Pinch Hitter
by uragaaru
Summary: Three years after Jusendo, Ranma's life is coming together when a new family and a power he never wanted are accidentally thrust upon him. Now he must face the sins of the distant past, the obligations of the present, and an emerging threat to the future in order to save the world and maybe his sanity. A semi-farcical fukufic containing yuri, sex jokes, and bouts of melodrama.
1. Prologue - A Brief History Lesson

**Prologue - A Brief History Lesson**

**Silver Millennium Calendar 3520380.77  
****(November 4th, 13843 BCE)  
****(Friday, 11:37 PM)**

The grand ballroom of Amalthea Castle was the definition of opulence. Large white marble columns supported an immense room which held one thousand of the high society swells who lived past the asteroid belt. Though a small moon of Jupiter, its closeness to the large planet made Amalthea a resort for the ultra-wealthy. Indeed, the view of Jupiter itself dominated the night sky and it's ochre surface shone through the floor to ceiling windows that opened up to an expansive balcony. At the moment there where, oddly, only two people. They stood admiring the view, though not paying the gas giant nor the throngs of people inside any mind.

The man was tall, around two meters in height. His skin was light, barely tinged with blue. His long black hair, draped openly behind him and fell onto his mantle, the cape of which he used to envelop the woman next to him. She was somewhat tall, a little more than a hundred and sixty centimeters. Her long silver hair was done up in an intricate french braid. She wore an elegant, if low-cut white ball gown and delicate, iridescent crystal heeled slippers.

The two stared in each other's eyes, taking in as much of the other features as was possible behind the delicate, porcelain masques. They leaned into each other again and shared a deep kiss.

"I haven't felt this way in a very long time," the woman half-whispered as she pulled herself away.

"Neither have I," the man confessed. "You're quite a woman."

She wrapped the cloth of the man's cape tighter, enjoying the feeling of his warmth. She looked up and said, with a giddy smile, "If this isn't too forward of me, what's a gentleman like yourself doing in a place like this?"

The man blinked. "I'm visiting my younger brother who works at the Europa Institute. I'm from Oikumene in the Rigel System."

"Oh?" The blonde woman put a gloved finger on the man's chest delicately, slowly tracing the outline of the detailed gold embroidery of his tunic downwards. "Is it true what they say about Rigelians?" she asked mischievously.

The man looked away slightly, rolling his eyes a bit, but smiled all the same. "I have a suite upstairs. Why don't we see for ourselves?"

The woman put a hand over her décolletage and said, in an over-dramatic voice, "Oh my. But we haven't even introduced ourselves."

The man finally reached around with an arm and touched the small of her back, bringing her closer. "For tonight, call me 'Xavin'," he whispered.

The woman looked up at him closely. She bit her lip before smiling again. "You can call me 'Bunny'." She rose on her tiptoes to kiss him once more.

* * *

**Silver Millennium Calendar 3520580.37  
****(Monday, July 31, 13842 BCE)  
****(2:28 AM)****  
**

The large antechamber was dark, the only light emanating from a large fireplace and the nighttime sky. The white crystal room was sparsely decorated save for a four-post bed, a small writing desk, and a chaise lounge. The lone figure in the room sat on the chaise, her attention turned towards the large floor to ceiling window, overlooking the stars and the full earth at the apex of its rise. Her long silver hair glistened in the earthlight.

A set of large alabaster doors at the front of the room creaked open and a second figure entered. She was dressed in a slim, black formal gown which complimented her dark brown skin. Her green hair was put up in a complicated french braid. As she closed the door behind her, the woman on the chaise spoke.

"Did all the negotiations go as planned?"

The woman standing nodded. "Yes, my queen. It took some third-party negotiation to see the agreement through, but King Endymion's family is preparing to receive her. They were grateful since the queen is unable to have any more children after the difficult birth of their son. They, too, wish to avoid rumor and, truth be told, her majesty is looking forward to a daughter."

"I'm glad," the queen said, relieved.

The two were frozen in silence, the crackling of the fire echoing across the vast antechamber.

"If I can speak frankly, My Queen?"

The queen nodded. "Of course."

"Damn it, Serenity," Setsuna all but spat. "Why is all this subterfuge is necessary? It isn't right."

Serenity shook her head, "I dare say it hardly matters if its right or wrong. It's improper for me to be with child. Aside from the scandal sheets, the negotiations have been with the Andromedans over the union between King Halycon and I are still rather tense." She gave a quick, almost bitter, laugh, " Heh. I can't even get married without it being a political nightmare."

She drew in a long breath, exhaling it fully before continuing. "If it were just my reputation at stake... but the fate of the Moon Kingdom would be at risk and I can't allow myself to put billions of people at risk because of a… personal failing."

Setsuna snorted and replied in an accusing, yet amused tone, "Personal failing indeed. Were those marriage agreements so tense you sought relief elsewhere?"

Serenity cracked a smile. "Please. Not like it wouldn't have happened after we got married. The man's gayer than a Martian Tea Party. The only real benefit, other than the alliance and its resources, is that it'll make the damn Terran Senate and their Isolationist spooks think I don't control the reins of power. Fools."

"Still…" Setsuna paused. "I can't believe you just went and did it with a complete stranger without even the foresight of birth control."

"Setsuna!" the queen snapped, her controlled façade breaking as she chided her confidant with the expression of a school girl, before her mood changed and she became remorseful. "I'm sorry. You're right, it was totally, inexcusably reckless. But I just wanted to be a regular person again for just one night. The papers can barely stop themselves from printing an article every time I take a shit, let alone suggest I have needs. Being out there, even in disguise was so freeing," she said, in mock relief, before adding, in a petulant voice, "Besides... I was tanked to the gills on Venusian Shiraz. And he was Rigelian. You know how _they_ are."

"With the big..."

"Yes!" She nearly moaned. "Oh gods, what a night that was! Phew..." Serenity fanned her face theatrically as she let out the ghost of a smile before slowly returning to a more neutral regal demeanor, "but in this galaxy, an unmarried woman, especially royalty, can't be seen with child. And I'll be damned if I'm going to let the vultures in the Terran Senate catch me in a moment of weakness. Not yet anyway."

Setsuna walked over and sat down on the chaise next to Serenity, "So you're just giving up on her? Your _child_?" Setsuna began to tear up, "This isn't like you, Serenity."

"No Setsuna..." Queen Serenity said, shaking her head and looking down and placing a hand on her ponderous stomach, "I'm giving her a chance at being free."

"That's a rather self-serving sentiment," Setsuna replied softly.

Serenity pursed her lips, but nodded in agreement, "You're right. It benefits me as much as anything." She looked up at her aide and confidant. "However, I really mean it when I say if I can't give her my love and protection, I would rather give her freedom. Any legitimate child of mine will have the eyes of every planet and every citizen on her. Maybe it is just selfishness, but it's also a bit of intuition. This one isn't meant for that sort of life. She won't need my name or influence to do great things."

Setsuna nodded, unsure if she could trust her words.

Serenity brushed a stray lock of silver hair, "Besides, this is a long-term project."

"Oh?" Setsuna said, raising an eyebrow,

Serenity pointed at her stomach. "This little one is an insurance policy for the Moon Kingdom. If she's ever needed, my power can be bestowed upon her. The Moon Kingdom will have a guardian, no matter what."

Setsuna gave her companion an odd look. Serenity looked away from the piercing gaze, returning again to the more vulnerable woman she had been acting like.

"I know that's a cold sentiment, Secchan" the silver-haired woman confessed in a small, scared voice, tears finally dripping from her face, "but this world is no place for a bastard child. I-I love her too much to see her be the target of ridicule."

The door opened suddenly. A servant entered the room and said, quietly, "My Queen, it's time."

Serenity looked at Setsuna, "Thank you, Secchan. You've always been too good for me."

"Selene..." Setsuna whispered.

The queen leaned up and softly pulled the taller Setsuna into a tender hug and kissed her on the forehead.

"I know. I'm sorry I put you through all this grief. I don't know what someone like you sees in a foolish girl like me." She put on a brave face, undercut by the tear tracks on her cheeks. "It will be okay in the end. I promise."

With those words Queen Serenity, the high monarch and ruler of the Moon Kingdom, slowly stood. Even so far along in her pregnancy, she walked with the a grace and poise that had not wavered. She followed behind the servant, quickly exiting the room.

Once the doors closed with a definite thud, Setsuna closed her eyes and wept for a long time.

* * *

**Silver Millennium Calendar 3540670.11  
****(Wednesday, September 2, 13817 BCE)  
****(2:09 PM)**

The open crystal Moon Palace had been hastily converted to a fortress when Queen Metallia's forces, led by Beryl, sprung up seemingly overnight. The past year had been nothing but protracted siege warfare. Contact outside of the solar system had been severed and, one by one, the planets had been choked of civilian life until, what was left of the Silver Millennium had gathered on the Moon, to face overwhelming odds.

Inside the Command Grid, Queen Serenity Stood facing a large bank of screens while various communications officers relayed information.

"Your Highness, enemy forces have breached the outer defense grid! We're being overrun!"

"Status?"

"Neptune and Uranus's forces are down. Jupiter and Mercury's are leading the defense groups and-"

There was a loud explosion, causing the building to rock violently.

"Ma'am! Large shockwave detected to the westward grid past Defense grid Beta- We've lost the signal from Venus and Mars!"

Queen Serenity nodded and stood. She pressed button on her wrist.

"Moon. Come in Moon..."

There was a loud pitched scream. "Endymioooon!" the voice on the other end wailed.

"Get me a visual." Queen Serenity ordered. An officer in front of her shook his head.

"No good, Ma'am. We've lost all exterior camera feeds".

"Usagi. Usagi!" Queen Serenity screamed into her wrist.

"Endymion… I'm sorry... you and Venus and... died to save me, I..." Usagi said. A metallic shinking echoed through the sounds of battle and then the signal went dead.

With a shaky breath, Queen Serenity held on to the railing in front of her. Barely grasping what she had just witnessed. She looked down and, after a beat, picked herself up. She held her head up and said in a low, commanding voice.

"Attention all remaining officers. This is Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom. I am implementing plan Omega. Authorization three-four-seven-omicron-rho. Repeat, plan Omega is now in effect. Prepare remaining personnel as appropriate. May the gods help us all."

The communications officers looked at each other, hesitant looks in their eyes, as they began inputting a complicated series of commands. The staff on the control bridge nodded slowly.

"Sailor Pluto, do you copy me?"

There was a crackle of static. "…Pluto here, your Majesty."

"It's time. We're implementing Omega."

"…Acknowledged. Beginning mission protocols."

"Setsuna?" Serenity called out.

"Y-yes, Your Majesty?"

"Take care of them."

"I will, My Queen."

"Oh, and Setsu… Secchan?"

"Yes?"

Queen Serenity closed her eyes. "I love you."

"...I love you too, Selene. Farewell."

Queen Serenity walked into her makeshift private quarters. From her desk, she pulled out two pictures. She looked at the subjects of the photographs for a moment before, with one last breath of resolve, she summoned the Ginzuishou and held it tight against her. The force of her will powered the crystal until a powerful beam of silvery-white light shot grew, engulfing the room. Then, in a large beam, shot upwards and out of the Palace. As the combined forces of Queen Metallia surrounded the last remaining bastion of the Moon Kingdom, the satellite of Earth itself began to glow with the same incandescent brilliance.

In moments, the solar system was silent.

* * *

**(April 15th, 1996 CE)  
****(8:25 AM)**

A blond-haired middle-school aged girl picked herself up from the ground.

"Oh no! I stepped on a poor kitty."

She picked up the hurt black cat. It began gesticulating wildly in her hands. The girl noticed the bandages on the cat's forehead.

"Do you want me to take the bandage off?" she wondered as she pulled off the bandage from the black cat's head.

She was briefly transfixed by the yellow, crescent moon-shaped patch of fur on the cat's forehead before realizing the time.

"Oh god, I'm gonna be late for school!" she exclaimed and ran off.

* * *

**(May 4th, 1996)  
****(4:39 PM)**

The red-haired girl looked up the confused members of the Tendo family and said, in a soft voice,

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."

**(5:40 PM)**

The black-haired boy walked downstairs, a towel draped over his shoulders. His presence attracted the attention of the confused household.

"Um, I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about this."

* * *

**(August, 25th, 1996)  
****(2:47 AM)****  
**

The black void of evil force known as Queen Metallia cried out, "I will kill the carrier of the blood of the Moon Kingdom!"

Sailor Moon, inside of Metallia along with the unconscious body of Mamoru, held out the Ginzuishou and focused. The mass of darkness screamed as the silver light burned her insides. Sailor Moon, picked up Mamoru's still form and leapt out of the inky mass through a shaft of the Ginzuishou's light. Sailor Moon took Mamoru's hand and felt its growing warmth.

Mamoru slowly opened his eyes.

"Usagi?" He lifted his hands in front of his face, but his eyes are cloudy and blinded. As Sailor Moon knelt by his side, Queen Metallia came up behind her.

Again, Sailor Moon extended the Ginzuishou, blasting her. Queen Metallia., in response, began growing in size, trying to swallow the full energy of the Ginzuishou.

Sailor Moon felt a sense of loneliness. Her Senshi were gone, Luna was far away, and Mamoru rendered blind. Just as the sense of despair began to grow too heavy for Sailor Moon, Mamoru reached into his jacket and pulled out the kunzite stone.

A warm voice he didn't even realize he missed said, "Her forehead, My Lord. It's her weakness! Please, destroy her. Save us, My Lord." In Mamoru's mind, the spirits of the other generals appeared, smiling. Then, at once, the four stones shattered.

Mamoru cried out, "Her forehead, Sailor Moon! You can do it! I know you think you're a crybaby, but have confidence in yourself. He stood up behind her, feeling Sailor Moon's face with his hands. Her cheeks were wet. "I'll always be by your side, Serenity."

"Endymion." Sailor Moon uttered as she took his hand. At her touch, the Crescent Moon Stick extended into a staff.

Mamoru felt the energy emerging from Usagi and thought he could the Moon shining into his blinded eyes.

Sailor Moon turned to Metallia. "I, Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, with the full strength of the Moon, will seal you away!"

* * *

**(November 27th, 1996)  
****(4:15 PM)**

It was a bitterly cold afternoon when Akane came into the house. She had stood outside by the front gate of the house for almost half an hour, looking down the road for any sign of Ranma's return from Mt. Horai. As she came back inside, Kasumi walked up to her and gave Akane a small hug.

"He'll be back soon, Akane. You have to believe that," the elder sister said.

Akane rested her head against Kasumi's shoulder and nodded. "I know."

"Good." Kasumi smiled. "It's so cold today, why don't you take a bath? It'll warm you up."

Akane nodded again and walked towards the bathroom. Opening the door, she found Ranma, Mousse, and Ryouga sitting the furo. The three of them had surprised looks.

"Hey! No peeping in the men's furo!" Mousse yelled out.

"Long time no see, Akane." Ryouga said, his cheeks glowing red.

"H-Hey Akane." Ranma said, smiling nervously. "I'm home."

Akane blinked, the realization she was looking at the three naked men inside her bathroom had hit her. In an instant she turned away and walked out into the hall, red with anger.

"What the hell! I was so worried about you and you're just hanging out in the bath!" She yelled behind her. Ranma, a towel wrapped around his waist came out into the hall.

"What're ya talking about? Look! I'm a man again!"

Akane sputtered, "I-I know that! P-put on some clothes, dummy."

A few minutes later, Ranma walked back downstairs, buttoning the frogs on his shirt, "Bossy as always..." he muttered. "A guy goes through all this trouble..." He turned to Akane. "Can't ya say somethin' nice for a cha-"

Ranma was rendered speechless when Akane grabbed him, squeezing the surprised martial artist until he found it hard to breathe.

"Welcome home..." Akane thought to herself.

* * *

**(December 2nd, 1996)  
****(11:24 AM)**

In Ichinohashi Park, near Juuban High, Chibi-Usa and Usagi met Mamoru. Sitting down Mamoru pulled out a Tuxedo Kamen doll.

"I want you to have this to remember your 'papa' by," Mamoru said, with a slight smile.

Chibi-usa giggled as she took the figure. She then said, "Oh, I have a present for you, Usagi!"

From her backpack she pulled out a small rod. "Here's a Moon Heart rod for the new Usagi."

Usagi began shed a tear in joy as Chibi-Usa stood, waved goodbye, and walked off, disappearing in a flash of light.

Usagi and Mamoru sat there on the park bench, examining the new item.

"You going to miss her, huh?" Mamoru asked.

Usagi nodded. "I am, but we'll see her again someday. She's our daughter after all." She stared at the oasis of green in the middle of Tokyo, "I know that between now and the future, plenty of good things will happen in our lives, so I'm not sad."

"Some things we won't have to wait too long for," Mamoru said as he leaned down to kiss Usagi deeply.

The two were so engrossed in their kiss, they didn't notice the flash of light over them. It wasn't until the familiar black Luna-P ball hit Mamoru square on the head along with Chibi-Usa falling on Usagi's head, that they were knocked out of their trance.

"Chibi-Usa! What's the matter?" Mamoru asked.

The pink-haired girl from the future smiled. "Mama wanted me to give you this." She pulled out a letter and gave it to Usagi.

Mamoru glanced at it briefly, "At least your future self remembers how bad you are at kanji."

"Don't be a meanie, Mamo-chan!" Usagi said as she read the simply-written letter

_Dear Usagi and Mamoru_

_We would like it if Small Lady spent more time in the 20__th__ Century. _

_Please instruct her on how best to use her powers as a senshi. _

_All the Best, _

_Queen Serenity and King Endymion_

Usagi and Mamoru looked up at the letter and stared at each other, the same nervous expression on both their faces.

* * *

**(March 3rd, 1997)  
****(3:12 PM)**

Ranma Saotome, heir to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, was on his knees. He had broken the seal on the Dragon Spout and the water restored the body of his fiancée, Akane Tendo, to its normal size from the small doll body it had been changed into. The cold water, of course, also triggered Ranma's Jusenkyo curse, but the importance of the moment overshadowed any recognition of that fact.

Now, at the edge of the 'Pools of Sorrow', Jusenkyo, Ranma cradled Akane's body in his arms, speaking softly to her.

"Why did you the last of your strength to save me, Tomboy? Akane, you dummy..."

He looked down once more at her soft face, hoping beyond hope her eyes would open.

"I'm sorry Akane. I'm useless here..." he whispered to himself. "I've never been able to tell you my true feelings. Wake up, Akane. I want to finally tell you how I feel. Akane can you hear me?"

Ranma basked in the stillness of what, not 15 minutes before, had been the most heated battle he had ever faced. He had killed Saffron, the Leader of the Phoenix Tribe and a demi-god. It took everything he had and, he had to admit, it took Akane's sacrifice as well. Thinking upon that, tears began escaping from his slate-blue eyes, landing on Akane's cheeks.

Ranma was too choked up to speak, but his thoughts roiled with everything he was feeling. In pain he practically screamed inside his own head.

"Akane! I want to tell you that I love you!"

Broken, Ranma's eyes were closed and he remained silent until he felt a hand brush his cheek.

Ranma whispered, "A... kane?"

A voice quietly whispered in reply, "Ran... ma..."

"Akane!"

"Ranma... I couldn't move my body, but I heard everything," she said in a raspy, tired voice.

Ranma stood, helping Akane up as well. He looked up at Akane and asked, nervously, "E-everything?"

"Yup!" Akane replied, smiling.

* * *

**(April 18th, 1997)  
****(6:27 PM)**

The looming darkness of the Tau system bore down on Tokyo. The protective barrier formed by the Outer Senshi and their talismans fell and, after giving Sailor Moon of of their Power, the Sailor Senshi fell into unconsciousness.

"No.. their power is still within me and the Ginzuishou!"

"Now, Holy Grail! Come to my hand!"

The Grail appeared before Usagi.

"Lend me your power…Fill me with the power of all nine Sailor Senshi, Holy Grail!"

Mamoru, holding the unconscious body of Chibi-Usa in his arms, looked up in the sky to see Super Sailor Moon fly into the air towards the dark void.

"Usagi?!" He called out. "What are you planning to do?" he whispered.

Usagi looked back down and, for a moment, smiled. She turned back and, with steely determination flew into the void.

Mamoru cried out as he saw the love of his life disappear into the blackness.

"Usagi!"

* * *

**(September 12th, 1997)  
****(4:30 PM)**

It was a slow afternoon at Okonomiyaki Ucchan. The restaurant had just opened up and its number one customer (if you discounted the fact he never paid), Ranma Saotome, had his mouth half-full of okonomiyaki when Ukyou Kuonji spoke.

"Ran-chan, I'm sorry."

He looked up, a piece of pork belly dangling from his mouth. "Guh?"

Ukyou shook her head. "I'm sorry for hurting you Ran-chan, but I can't waste anymore time waiting to see if you'll want to marry me anymore. I have my future to think about." She looked off to the side at the waitress who set down a tray of utensils before walking over. "I decided I was better off with the one who wants to be with me."

Konatsu wrapped his arm around Ukyou and bowed slightly. "I hope you aren't too angry at us, Ranma-sama."

"Buh." Was his only reply.

* * *

**(February 28th, 1998)  
(5:57 AM)**

Usagi and Mamoru awoke. Around them was an overgrown garden dotted with broken white marble columns. As they sat up, the two lovers realized they had return to their original forms.

"What happened? Nephrenia had made our bodies small," Usagi asked aloud. A soft voice from behind them answered.

"I was able to rescue you from Nephrenia's nightmare."

Usago and Mamoru looked up to see a young man with silver hair and a white helical horn on his forehead.

"Helios!"

"Where are we?" Mamoru asked. He slowly rubbed his temples, wincing. "It's… so familiar."

Helios smiled sadly, his lips curled up in a grimace. "My Prince, this is... this is what's left of the Golden Kingdom you are the heir to. This is-"

"Elysion," Mamoru finished with a whisper.

"Yes, My Prince. From here, you and Princess Serenity can begin to fight Nephrenia!"

The three began to strategize, never noticing the ivy-covered rapier that stood, proud, in the center of the garden.

* * *

**(October 19th, 1998)  
****(11:17 AM)**

The park directly adjacent to Nerima Station had seen better centuries, the Second World War included. Over the morning, there had been what could best be described as "a no-holds-barred epic showdown".

That the agonists for this particular conflict were a shrunken Chinese woman of indeterminate age and Ranma Saotome, age 18 and currently male (though he'd been female for the majority of the last hour) were of little relevance. Trees were uprooted and turned into kindling. Football field-sized patches of grass were blackened ash. In short, it was a goddamn war zone.

Cologne, elder matriarch of the Nujiezu Amazons of Western China, certainly felt the time pass. At close to 200 years old, she was no spring chicken. Her only advantage to this fight had been her wealth of techniques and secret knowledge, her speed, and her vast reserves of chi. Now, the latter two were faltering, and beginning to affect the first.

"Obstinate child, thinking that defeating Saffron could ever make you my better!" She spat out.

Ranma Saotome was less worse for wear physically, but he was running out of tactical options.

"Heh, Saffron ain't even the strongest opponent I've beaten," he said, forcing an evil grin, despite his cheek muscles being sore after a few skyward journeys courtesy of the hunk of petrified, chi-infused lumber Cologne called a walking staff.

"What are you talking about?"

"Tell me... you seen the old pervert anytime recently?" he asked.

The Amazon matriarch narrowed her eyes. "You're not implying..."

Ranma let one a smirk shine through his otherwise impassive face. "He's holed up in his room... it was a real pain in the ass to get the hospital bed into his room. Doc says he'll be right as rain by New Year's..."

The two ran into each other, trading punches and blocks. To Cologne's consternation he was gaining the advantage in both strikes that went through her defenses and the number of blocks he had to make. In a moment of desperation, Cologne brought her staff back.

"Nujiezu secret technique: High Pressure Wave - Gao Ya Po!"

Ranma leaped high above the amazon elder as a wall of suddenly pressurized air pulsated in front of her. From his back pocket, Ranma pulled out a picnic blanket-sized furoshiki cloth over Cologne.

"Umisenken Ultimate Technique: Goshi Dai Ryuusei Fu!" Ranma disappeared in plain sight, along with all the energy of Cologne's attack.

"You cannot expect to win hiding in the shadows like that petty thief you call a father."

"I guess ya gotta point, ghoul," Ranma replied, his voice echoing around the entire park.

Ranma reappeared, a cloth sack on his back. Cologne threw out her staff as Ranma swung the large cloth sack, as though it were a baseball bat, at the Amazon.

"Bakusai Tenketsu!" She yelled, extending her staff out and touching the cloth sack. The large cloth sack burst open, releasing, to her surprise, the energy of her previous attack. The wave of high pressure air poured out pushing her back.

Ranma gasped theatrically, "Come on, Cologne. I stole that attack fair and square!" Ranma narrowed his eyes. "I only get one shot at this," he thought.

"Yamasenken final technique: SAIDAIKYUU KIJIN RAISHUU DAN!" A barrage of vacuum blades cut a hole through the center of the wave of pressure. He jumped into the vacuum.

"Hiryu Shouten Ha, revised: Kaisouryuu Kourin Ha!" he yelled. The drastic difference in air pressure let Ranma create a vortex which flung the Amazon matriarch high into the air. Incredibly, Cologne recovered from both the g-forces and the turbulence and landed on her feet. Still, she looked worse for wear; her robes were in tatters, marred with dust and twigs. Her long white hair was frayed and shorn off on one side.

"I won't be cowed so easy, whelp," she raised her staff, summoning yet another vast reservoir of ki from gods know where.

Ranma clutched his stomach and clenched his teeth. Inwardly, he was taking stock of his situation."Dammit, that was my last ace in the hole! I'm in trouble now and out of options... come on you bastard!". Just before he closed his eyes to shield himself from the impact, a loud cry from the distance broke Cologne's attention.

"Ai-yaaaah!"

"What was that?" Cologne stood back and saw the looming giant winged minotaur known as Pansuto Tarou. As Tarou flew towards them, he carried Shampoo over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Ranma smiled through the pain as he declared, "I win." He sighed in relief, before falling to the ground face first. "Better late than never, ya stupid cow," he thought.

Spotting a kettle next to Akane, he picked it up and changed back into his human form.

"Hey faggot. I did what the old man asked," Tarou said, nonchalantly.

"Yeah, and you took your sweet time doin' it." Ranma replied, not moving from his prone position. "You issued a formal challenge?"

Tarou nodded. "She's worse than a rabid bitch. Kept saying shit about kisses. I didn't fucking understand a word of it."

"You defeated Shampoo in formal combat?" Cologne asked, aghast.

Ranma looked up at the elder. "Now it ain't my problem. I ain't ever gonna be an Amazon."

"Very well then." Cologne nodded as she began to look over Tarou, poking him lightly in a few places on his chest and face, causing the young man to recoil. "Could be a touch more handsome, but you'll do."

"What the fuck is that shriveled goblin talkin' about?" He said aloud, before receiving a smack on the head from Cologne's staff. Ranma face curled up in a goofy smile at the sight.

Cologne looked towards the gathered crowd until she saw the young man wearing comically thick glasses and a white robe. "Mousse! We're leaving."

"No."

"No?" Cologne asked, incredulous.

Mousse shook his head. "I'm sick of dancing to your tune, hag. I'm staying."

Ranma blinked, "Who knew the guy had it in him?"

Cologne narrowed her eyes as she felt the ground slip further away from her. "You know that by doing so you-"

Mousse looked away dramatically and snorted. "Please. I have nothing back at the village I don't already have in better measure."

"Even a chance with Shampoo?" Cologne asked.

Mousse gulped audibly, but slowly nodded as he glanced at Tarou. "Even that."

A Tarou laid Shampoo's sleeping form on the ground, Mousse thought to himself, "Goodbye Shampoo."

"Very well then, Mu Si." With a bit of effort, Cologne produced a canteen of water and threw it on her great-granddaughter. As she picked up the cat, she turned to Tarou and said, "We will see each other soon enough, son-in-law..." and bounded away.

As Tarou pondered the ominous sounding phrase, Mousse stood firm until he could no longer see them. Afterwards, he walked towards Ranma and Akane, the latter slowly helping the former up. He bowed deeply.

"I know I probably can't be forgiven for some of the things I've done to you in the past, but I hope that the few good things I've done will give me another chance." He stood up, but averted his eyes from Ranma and Akane. "I've decided I wanted to stay. Someday, I hope we can be friends."

"Mousse..." Ranma said, surprised.

"Excuse me, Saotome. I have to gather my things." He began to walk away.

"If you need anything, let us know," Akane called out.

"Thank you, but I think..." Mousse took off his glasses and wiped his face with the sleeve of his robes before placing them back on. "I can manage on my own."

After he too disappeared from view Ranma and Akane let out a sigh.

"Poor dope," Ranma muttered.

Akane felt a twinge of sympathy for the self-imposed exile. "I hope he'll be okay."

Ranma chuckled, then groaned in pain. "He'll be fine. Glad to see him grow a pair. The duck's more persistent than mold on bathroom tile."

Tarou finally lost his patience. " Hey tranny! Where's my name!? You promised Happosai'd give me my new name if I did what you asked."

Ranma nodded, "Oh yeah." He winced in pain as he reached into his back pocket. "Here ya go..." Ranma threw it behind him as he limped back home, leaning against Akane's shoulder.

Tarou opened the scroll. In the sloppiest handwriting he could ever recall seeing, he slowly made out Happosai's words.

_By decree of Happosai, Grandmaster of the Founding School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, I hereby declare:_

Pansuto Tarou

_will henceforth be named_

Okama Tarou

The Chinese martial artist slumped to the ground on his knees.

His cries of "HAPPOUSAAAAAAAAI!" could be heard all the way to the sea.

* * *

**(October 20th, 1998)  
****(12:12 PM)**

It was lunchtime at Juuban High School. Usagi, Ami, Makoto, Haruka, and Michiru sat around a shady oak tree. Usagi was trading part of her lunch with Makoto, the two of them enjoying each other's food. Ami was deep into a textbook on sorting algorithms while Haruka and Michiru were deeply into each other.

Suddenly Mnako ran up to the assembled group. "You guys, you guys, you guys!" Minako said, breathless. The group turned to look at the blonde girl with the red bow in her hair.

"Waf izzit, Mina?" Usagi said, her mouth half-full of onigiri.

"I found out about this hot new boy band!" Instantly Haruka and Michiru's attention was gone and they went back to what they were doing.

"Oh, sounds cool," Makoto said, "What are they called?"

"The Three Lights!"

* * *

**(January 7th, 1999)  
****(8:10 AM)**

It was a cold in the dojo, where Ranma lay prostrate in front of his mother, bowing deeply.

"Please Ma- Mother, you have to get them to drop this engagement."

Nodoka shook her head. "Ranma, my son, I'm surprised at you. I thought you fought the Amazons to marry Akane."

"Ma, I threw myself against the Amazons _because_ I don't want to get married anytime soon," he asserted.

"I thought you loved Akane, son."

Ranma grimaced and looked away. "I... I think I do. I may really love her, but... He asked again, with a slightly pained voice, "can't you see you're killin' us?"

Nodoka frowned. "If you love her, I don't see what difference it makes whether it's an arranged marriage or not."

Ranma lifted his head. "Were you n' Pop an arranged marriage?"

"Ranma... I don't see what-"

"It wasn't, was it?"

Nodoka shook her head. "No, we met quite by accident at Ueno Park one day. I was going to the zoo and we bumped into each other. I was surprised by how taken I was with him. We spent the day feeding the elephants. He then asked me on a more formal date."

"See Ma? That look you had in your eyes," He pointed out. "I wanna know that when I think about Akane, I'll have that look in my eyes and vice versa. I wanna know that it's for real and not just ta make everyone happy. And..." he sighed and muttered, "if I'm honest, I'm kinda tired of satisfying other people's obligations."

Nodoka gasped. "How can you say that?"

Ranma finally moved from his kneeling position and sat in seiza, facing his mother. His expression wavered from the naïve front to one that evoked a sense of tiredness and of the edge of suiting Ranma, the fighter. "Almost dying three times put things into perspective."

Nodoka frowned, but slowly nodded. "I will see what I can do. Your Father and Soun won't be easy to ply."

"Thank you M-Mother. That's all I can ask." Ranma stood and left the dojo. He was accosted by Akane who was standing just outside. She poked a finger at his chest. Akane fumed as she looked up at Ranma.

"So you never wanted to marry me, is that it!? After everything!" she yelled.

"I never said that!"

"Then why do you want to cancel the engagement?"

Ranma looked into Akane's hurt eyes. His lips curled up into a grimace. "Cause... 'cause look at us! We ain't even out of high school yet! How can we be talkin' about marriage n' stuff?" He gave what he felt was a reassuring smile. "You that eager to be a housewife or somethin'?"

Akane was rendered speechless.

Ranma continued, arms flailing somewhat. "I mean... I don't wanna be with you just cause, ya know? After that weddin' disaster, I decided I wanted ta find out if I wanted to be with you. If what I feel for ya is really me or just what Ma and Pop want."

"And?"

Ranma shook his head, "And I don't wanna marry you now."

Akane raised a fist. "I knew it! You-"

"Hey, I ain't done, tomboy!" Ranna shot back."I don't wanna marry you, but..." he looked down at his shuffling feet. "If you're interested in a dumb, sex-changin' pervert like me, I'd like-" He looked at Akane. "You wanna get dinner and maybe see a movie sometime?"

Akane blinked and lowered her arm. "Ranma... are you asking me out on a date?"

"Well..." Ranma's face began to turn red as he started rubbing the back of his neck. "I ain't _not_ askin', if that's what you're sayin'...," he said, his palms starting to sweat.

There was a strained silence for a moment and Ranma could feel a cold sweat on the back of his neck. His body started to shake a little and Akane began giggling.

"Aw come on, Akane. Don't kick a guy while he's-"

"I'd love to."

"Uh, really?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "You're still a jerk, you know."

Ranma cracked his trademark smirk."Well, yeah. I wouldn't want ya to think I'd lost my touch."

* * *

(**February 12, 1999)  
****(Somewhere in Time and Space)**

Usagi awoke suddenly in a empty white expanse. She noticed she only wore what appeared to be a while silken nightgown. She felt like she was floating in space and it was difficult to find her bearings.

"I'm alive?" She thought to herself. "Last I remember, I was enveloping the chaos inside the Cauldron of the Galaxy, but at the last moment, I was repelled."

Usagi jerked suddenly when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. Looking back, Usagi saw the love of her life, who she thought had died in the incursion against Galaxia. "Mamoru!" she whispered. Behind him, and dressed similarly to Usagi herself, were nice others. "And everyone else!" Usagi started tearing up, and she sobbed in joy as she grabbed onto Mamoru and held him tightly. Mamoru grabbed Usagi's hand, giving it the lightest of kisses.

"I'm sorry we couldn't protect you better," Minako said, leaning against Rei. Haruka and Michiru nodded as well. Makoto and Ami, flanking Setsuna and Hotaru, nodded as well

The tall, dark, Senshi of Time spoke, "You continued to call on us, drawing on all of our power. Thank you, Usagi."

Usagi ran and grabbed everyone in a tight group hug. Through tears of joy she said, "In my heart of hearts, I believed that I'd see everyone again."

Their reunion was interrupted by a soft pulse of energy. Usagi turned back and saw a tiny girl.

"Chibi-Chibi?" she wondered, before the image of the little girl blew out into blinding white energy. It slowly reformed into a tall, breathtakingly elegant woman, who bore angel wings. She carried a long, intricate staff and regarded the Senshi with a gentle demeanor.

"I am Sailor Cosmos. I am the guardian of the Cauldron and all of its stars. The forces of Chaos sought to destroy all the of the Star Seeds, but with your help Sailor Moon, the strongest of all the Galaxy's seeds, you have bright them back. I have given back all of the star seeds lost to the galaxy and have given them new life in their appointed times and places."

Usagi then felt a small hand touching her neck. She looked up to see Chibi-Usa, in her Super Chibi Moon form, with its tiny wings, flying above her.

"Usagi, I'll be waiting for you in the 30th Century," she said, before becoming a ball of light and floating away into space.

"I remember a star that carried a brilliance unlike any expect your own, Sailor Moon. That was your mother, Queen Serenity, whose life was also lost to the Cauldron's sea of origin. All of you here, who are fully formed star seeds within the cauldron are forever welcome here as you are."

The Senshi looked at each other confused before Sailor Cosmos continued.

"Do you wish to remain here, in your perfected forms? Or do you wish to leave your star forms and return to your world and your lives, however imperfect they may be?"

It only took a moment for the Senshi to decide. They stood together as one when Usagi spoke.

"We want to go live together back on Earth. We want to live our lives, however difficult it may be at times. We want to live together!" At that declaration, everyone was suddenly enveloped in a bright light and soared out of the Cauldron.

Usagi called out to Salior Cosmos, "Is Chaos gone?"

From the growing distance as the Senshi approach the solar system, then Earth, Usagi heared Sailor Cosmos's reply, "The core of chaos, the Chaos Seed, and I are melded into the Cauldron. We are now too small to be found by outside forces. However, chaos may be born anew. After all, the galaxy is where new stars and new possibilities are born..."

* * *

**(March 20, 1999)  
****(10:25 AM)**

It was a warm, blessedly Kuno-free day. The principal who bore that surname had left during finals week to "attend a seminar on administrative efficiency protocols". Ranma and Akane couldn't care less if he was learning how to hula into a volcano, they were finished with the distilled chaos known as high school. It wasn't just the end of secondary education, it was the end of a period of their lives that ran from the day Ranma had shown up at Akane's house to the present and every crazy thing in between.

In the middle of the folding chairs where the graduating class of Furinkan High sat, Ranma leaned into the row of people in front of him to whisper into Akane's ear.

"Congratulations Tomboy."

"You too, dummy," she replied.

Ranma carefree smile faltered slightly. "Hey, uh... I've been thinkin'.."

"Again? What did I tell you about thinking?" She laughed.

"Shaddup," He took a breath. "We've been goin' out for a while now and all the stuff that made things so rough died down. I know we ain't goin' to the same college and all, but hell it ain't so far away, me in Setagaya and you in Hachioji..."

"Ranma?"

He tugged at his tie. "I dunno. Thinking of you around other guys at college without sayin' anything just makes... I don't think I can take it. Akane, uh, I can't make no grandiose promises or nuthin', but I'd like to be your boyfriend, if you're willing."

Akane nodded. "I'd like that."

* * *

**(August 1, 1999)  
****(3:30 PM)**

Usagi and Mamoru stood at the entrance of Narita Airport.

"I'm gonna miss you, Mamo-chan."

"I'm only gone a year. I'll be back next July... barring any other disasters, of course."

Usagi laughed, though it was a tired laugh. "Yeah..."

The young man scooped Usagi into his arms, "When I get back and you finish high school, I'll see you married to me, Usagi Tsukino."

"I should say I'll see you married to me, Mamoru Chiba."

"Yes, my Queen," he replied jokingly. Usagi giggled before sighing. "I'm gonna miss you Mamo-chan"

"I know Usako. I'll call and write. I'm going to go broke buying phone cards on you. If you don't hear from me at least once a week, you can go ahead and assume the galaxy is in peril, okay?"

Usagi smiled. "Okay. Go, before you miss your flight. I don't think Setsuna would be happy if she had to personally escort you back to Boston."

"Take care of yourself. If anything happens while I'm gone, I will get back as soon as possible, okay?"

Usagi nodded and the two finally broke their embrace. Mamoru picked up his duffel bag and walked through the gate. Usagi frantically waved him goodbye and saw the airplane leave.

She was sullen as she walked towards the train station back to Tokyo. As she arrived, she saw five familiar faces. Ami, Rei, Makoto, Minako, and Naru, of all people, were there, smiles on their faces.

"Guys?" Usagi said, not trusting her eyes at the moment. The girls ran up to her and gave her a hug.

"I can't say I know what you're going through Usagi," Naru said. "But I'd be real sad too if I had to say goodbye to Umino for a whole year, even though we can talk to each other online."

"We decided we should have a girls' night out to cheer you up, Usagi!" Makoto said.

"What do you want to do?" Ami asked.

Usagi was unsure how to answer and, in her delay, Rei answered for her.

"What else does she do? Eat and play video games."

"The Crown?" Minako asked.

"The Crown!" Usagi replied as the group of teenagers went off back to the, for the moment, quiet streets of Tokyo.

* * *

Notes

The term "okama" (オカマ) refers to a particular form of queer male representation that is characterized by effeminate (or perhaps what we would call camp) mannerisms and a tendency to crossdress. In the Manga series, this was the most common way for Tarou to refer to Ranma as both a slur and a taunt.

I recommend a quick jaunt to goggle maps to get a sense of the locations used in this story. In short, Setagaya is a ward just Southwest of Central Tokyo (Along with Meguro Ward). Hachioji is about 40 kilometers west of the 23 central wards of Tokyo.

Author Comments:

Yes, I apologize ahead of time. This is my attempt at the already bloated genre we call 'fukufic'. I'm hoping for something of a raucous ride, squarely in between the ur-text known as _Lines of Destiny_ and, on the opposite end of that spectrum, the incredibly awesome _Beautiful Destroyer Sailor Moon._ If I can get halfway to some of the better known works in the genre, I'll be happy.

As I mentioned in the summary, there will be sex jokes, discussions of queer issues, and some melodrama. The meat of the story, however, is about family. What happens when people discover family they didn't know they had and how the process of incorporation is always awkward at best, fraught with peril at worst. It's also about how one goes about delineating who is family and what it means to be a family.

HUGE Thanks to Frice2000 and Kevin Hammel on fukufics for giving me great feedback on this story as well as my good friend and collaborator (on _Prodigal Daughter_ and _Creatures of Habit_), Unsurpassed Travesty, for fielding my questions and letting me talk her ear off when this little earwig wouldn't go away.

As always, please read and review this and all of my stories!

～裏には裏がある


	2. Chapter 1 - Moonlighting

_Standing where I am now, standing up at all  
__I was used to feeling like I was never gonna see myself at the finish line_

_Hanging on to parts of me, hanging on at all  
__I was used to seeing no future in my sight line_

_Sometimes it feels like they wanna remind me  
__Send all those villains after me_

_I'm not their hero  
__But that doesn't mean that I wasn't brave  
__I never walked the party line  
__Doesn't mean that I was never afraid  
__I'm not your hero  
__But that doesn't mean we're not one and the same_

_Feeling like I am now lighting up the hall  
__I was used to standing in the shadow of a damaged heart  
_

_Learning all I know now, losing all I did  
__I never used to feel like I'd be standing so far ahead_

_Sometimes it feels what I recovered you lost  
__Sending your peaceful loss to me  
__I'm not their hero  
__But that doesn't mean that I wasn't brave  
__I never walked the party line  
__Doesn't mean that I was never afraid  
__I'm not your hero  
__But that doesn't mean we're not one and the same_

_Sometimes it feels like the side that I'm on  
__Plays the toughest hand, holds the longest stand  
__Sometimes it feels like I'm all that they've got  
__It's so hard to know I'm not what they want_

-Tegan and Sara Quinn

Pinch Hitter

Chapter 1: Moonlighting

It was a hot and especially muggy Sunday afternoon in Kasai City, in the heart of Edogawa Ward on the eastern edge of Tokyo. A young woman exited the train station in a confident, purposeful strut. She wore a lightweight, cream-colored dress, dark sunglasses and a large brimmed hat. A large straw tote bag hung off her left shoulder. A certain pigtailed young man trailed behind her, dragging somewhat in the enervating weather. He was clad in a red, cotton duangua with the sleeves rolled up and black drawstring pants. He felt defeated both by the weather and the current situation he found himself in.

"This stinks," Ranma Saotome groused. "I haven't slept since yesterday. And I got work later today."

"Girl job or boy job?" Nabiki Tendo asked, a smirk on her face.

"The family restaurant. Bleh." Ranma stuck out his tongue for effect."I can at least catch up on homework in between checking out library books."

"Well, you have only yourself to blame, dear Ranma. Your only work experience before college was waitressing for your exes. Don't worry, we'll be back home before you can say 'Stop pinching my ass, you creep!'"

Ranma's right eye visibly twitched at the tableau Nabiki had painted. His only response was to whine plaintively, "I really gotta go through this dog n' pony show a yours, 'Biki?"

"Oh, ho?" Nabiki turned back, raising an eyebrow, "Are you reneging on payment due, Saotome? I wasn't aware you were a deadbeat, like your father."

Ranma sputtered a protest, "But you didn't even get me a cure to my curse!"

Nabiki pulled out a legal-sized sheet of paper from her bag and flashed it in front of Ranma. "You requested information regarding the Permanence Shard which you hoped would be a cure for your curse. I gave you the most accurate and up to date information possible." She let a smirk escape her poker face. "It isn't my fault that 'up to date' meant 1922 and that, since then, the Great Kanto Earthquake and World War Two pretty much buried it under a thousand tons of city streets."

Ranma waved the paper away as though it was a swarm of mayflies. "Ya know, I thought about breaking up half of Yokohama to find it, but I had ta go to work."

Ranma took a moment to look around at the mostly mixed industrial and commercial streets of the neighborhood they were in. The foot traffic was rather sparse, save for a few pedestrians who, like them, were passing through. "So why're we here exactly?" he asked, wiping his brow with a sleeve. "Can't we at least walk by the river? There'd be a breeze there or somethin'. Too damn hot to be running around Tokyo like a couple of tourists."

"We're almost there," Nabiki chided, "Aren't you supposed to be a martial artist and not a baby?"

"Fine," Ranma huffed, as he put his hands in his pockets, "Seems like a lot of trouble to pay you back. I just figured you'd want to sell a couple of photos of me in a string bikini and not too subtly showing off my boobs." Ranma noticed a young man who stared at him from the corner of his vision. He looked over gave the man the evil eye before turning back to Nabiki. "Then again, I don't even know who the hell you can sell 'em to anymore. I mean, even if we still ived there, it ain't like there's anybody in Nerima Ward who hasn't heard of me." Ranma said this, initially complaining, but near the end, lilting up, almost prideful.

Nabiki chuckled to herself. She thought to herself, "Nerima's less than 1 percent of my market. I love the Internet." She looked at Ranma, her eyes narrowed and her eyebrows raised, a wry smile on her face, "Oh, I had something planned other than the typical gravure photoshoot, Ranma. I've found that there's a larger market than I expected in cosplay photos."

"Cosplay Photos?" Ranma asked, confused.

"You know, dressing up in costumes and such. The otaku set love to show their appreciation with their wallets." Nabiki continued, "And anyway, it really isn't too different than some of the outfits your twisted mind has come up with for one challenge or another. You can handle anything I can dish out, can't you?"

Ranma opened his mouth to retort, but, the words not coming, simply muttered, "... I guess."

"But I'm on a tangent. I thought if we can find the right props, it'll inspire me to come up with a few surefire outfits."

"So that's why we're here all the way on the other side'a town? Props?"

Nabiki didn't bother acknowledging Ranma directly. "There's a store here in Kasai that's frequented by TV and movie industry people. Set designers, costume makers, prop guys, that kind of thing. They sell all sorts of stuff used as props and set pieces for films and TV shows. On the cheap, to boot. Everyone in the know comes here."

"You're shooting some photos, not makin' a damn movie," Ranma countered.

"Most of the cosplay photo sets I've come across use cheap plastic props and flimsy costumes. I figure if we can up the production values, we'll have a higher quality product and we can charge more. It's a risk, but a calculated one. We can make some real money here."

Ranma raised an eyebrow, "We?"

Nabiki turned her lips up in a sly smile, "Well, if all goes as well as planned I plan on reinvesting some of my profits in a... shall we say 'secure, high-yield, long-term bond'."

"Come again?"

"I know you've been saving up for an engagement ring, Ranma." Nabiki said plainly.

Ranma rubbed the back of his head and turned away, embarrassed, "Who says I am?"

"Well the part time jobs make it obvious you're saving up for something. You already live in the most run-down boarding house in all of Tokyo and even with your food budget, you have to be taking in a lot more than you consume."

"So what if I am. I don't need a fancy apartment or nothin'," Ranma grumbled.

"Unless you're planning on a real fancy vacation, there's really only one thing you're saving up for. It's obvious. You're going to ask my dear little sister to marry her soon."

"Why? I mean we were 'engaged' back in high school, ya know," Ranma said gamely, playing at coyness.

"Oh please, that last person to take any of those 'engagements' seriously was Shampoo before she got beaten up by Pantyhose."

"Akane kicked my ass after being a real smug asshole about it for a week," Ranma recalled, "Totally worth it."

"That reminds me, how's the waterfowl doing?"

Ranma shrugged, "Alright. I tell you he's been seeing this girl at the juku he goes to, right? They're pretty serious, but I haven't met her. Mousse n' I started teachin' each other our special moves, but some of the hidden weapons stuff is killing me, especially when I'm a girl. My boobs take up too much space," Ranma casually remarked. A group of three middle-aged women turned and stared at Ranma in a mixture of shock and confusion. This time, perhaps cowed by his elders, Ranma couldn't shrug off the glares. He gulped audibly, face flushing with embarrassment.

Nabiki chuckled, "Smooth. Oh, and while we're catching up, did you get Ukyou's invitation yet?"

Ranma smiled and nodded, "Yep. Hand delivered, by Konatsu himself. I still say Ucchan's gonna wear a tux to the wedding."

Nabiki rolled her eyes, "That's a sucker bet and you know it, Saotome. You're underestimating how much that girl needs her femininity validated."

Ranma let out a wry chuckle, "I'll hold you to that."

Nabiki shook her head at the young man. "I shudder to even think about how your little brain works, but it leads to my conclusion. You stuck with Akane afterwards and so has she. You guys have been good to each other. You're gonna pop the question any time now. My money is on Akane's birthday in October, but maybe you'll be able to ask her by the end of summer if our little venture goes as planned."

Ranma blinked. "Summer, huh? All right, ya got me interested." Ranma smiled despite himself, "Ya really think we can get enough cash for a ring and stuff?"

Nabiki let out a small laugh. "Hell, if I plan this right, it'll be enough that Akane can give you a ring as well. After all, even a half-girl should get the whole 'will you marry me' treatment."

Ranma gave Nabiki a half-lidded stare.

"Hell, I would. If it doesn't work out, you can always hock it for gas money."

Before Ranma could reply to Nabiki's coldly practical suggestion, the enterprising young woman pointed to a large building.

"Ah! We're here," Nabiki said, pointing at the building, a bare wooden storefront with a sign that read 'Edogawa Curios' set above the door.

"Come on, Ranma. This should be educational for both of us."

* * *

The interior of the shop was decorated in wood, save the floor, which was tile stained gray with dust and grit. the open space made it feel more like a warehouse than a store and articles seemed randomly strewn in partitions organized seemingly by age.

"Aww, are you kidding, 'Biki? There's nuthin' but junk in here!" Ranma looked at the strewn piles of old toys, knick-knacks, picture frames, and books.

"Patience, Ranma. Take a look around. May I remind you that this is for your benefit as well."

"Fine," Ranma muttered. He saw a display by the register in the back of the shop that piqued his interest. Hanging on the wall above the counter was an array of Chinese, Japanese and Western swords. Alongside them were vintage, non-functional rifles that looked like they were from the Second World War. Inside the glass counter, ancient-looking scrolls were displayed. Ranma took a step towards it, but stopped when he knocked his foot against a table, jostling it. A small white and yellow object, seemingly made of porcelain fell onto the hard tile flooring, but strangely didn't shatter, merely dropping with a dull, vaguely metallic thud. The noise however, alerted Nabiki and the owner of the curio shop.

"Jeez, that was close," Ranma said aloud as he picked up the object in question. Looking at it more closely, he couldn't quite make heads or tails of what it was. It was a white cylindrical rod, about 20 inches in length. On the bottom was a small buttress, colored dark pink. Ranma thought for a second it was made of rubber, but realized it too was also of the same porcelain-like material. The other end was more interesting. A bright yellow crescent moon topped the wand, making the full length about 30 centimeters. A small, opalescent jewel, about the size of a small marble was affixed to the bottom of the crescent, attaching it to the wand.

"Where did you find that Saotome?" Nabiki inquired over Ranma's shoulder.

"I dunno... It fell offa table and I was just pickin' it up. I was scared I broke it. Looks kinda fragile, like one of the teacups at the Chardin mansion."

"Well no harm, no foul, I say," The owner, a frail, but kindly seeming elderly man, said. Adjusing his glasses, he peered at the object in Ranma's hands.

"Oh! This thing. I picked it up at an estate sale several years back. It was part of a collection of Ottoman Empire treasures, though it looks nothing like traditional Ottoman jewelry. It's an interesting piece though. So delicate looking, but probably stronger than most of the furniture in this place."

"Huh... Interesting," Ranma politely offered, unsure what else to say. He thought about putting it down and continuing on his way, but he hesitated, looking it over once more in fascination.

Nabiki studied it as well with narrowed eyes. After some mental calculations, she turned to the shopkeeper.

"How much is it?" She asked.

"Oh, not too much. Even given its lineage, I haven't found a buyer for it. The sorts of people that usually come here, don't spare it a second glance... I'd say 30,000 yen."

Ranma cautiously set it back down.

"I see. We'll think about it." Nabiki said, grabbing Ranma's arm and walking out hurriedly.

"Hey! What's the big idea, 'biki!?" Ranma said as the door closed behind them.

Rounding the corner, they ducked into the alley. Nabiki let Ranma go and started rustling through her large tote bag.

"I have the perfect idea for the photoset, but I'm not sinking in that kind of money for it. If I'm going to haggle, I may as well bring in my ace in the hole," she said, pulling out a plastic bottle of water.

Ranma slumped. "Aw, maaaan... You serious? I was actually havin' an okay day for once."

"Oh please, like you haven't pulled this stunt a thousand times already. Just pretend it's an ice cream shop or a takoyaki vendor. Turn up the girliness and I'll do the rest."

"It ain't girly! I just say what I gotta to get guys to give me things!" Ranma said with a conviction in his voice that spoke to Nabiki both of the obviousness of the statement and the obliviousness of its speaker.

"Okay..." Nabiki said with a shudder, "I'm going to pretend I didn't just hear that. Just change already. I'm getting a bit unsettled."

"Fine." Ranma said, grabbing the water bottle from Nabiki's hand. "Story of my life. Can't live a day without this crap," Ranma muttered, the voice changing from a grumbling tenor to an irritated mezzo-soprano. The now female Ranma shook out the excess water from her head and stretched her lithe, leanly muscled arms.

Nabiki watched as Ranma returned the now empty bottle to her and began changing in more imperceptible ways. Ranma stood still for a moment, took in a few centering breaths. She then untied her hair, shaking it so it loosely draped on her back. She stretched the muscles on her face, loosening up her jaw and opening her eyes wide. Finally, she performed what appeared to be a kata, with the customary kicks and strikes replaced with shifting her posture, walking around Nabiki, and altering her body language bit by bit until any pretense of masculine demeanor, save her clothing, was hidden from sight.

"All right, Nabiki-chan," Ranma said, with a mixture of irritation and pride, "Let's do this."

* * *

"Scary. Absolutely scary." Nabiki uttered, shell-shocked as they exited Edogawa Curios. Nabiki was somewhat imbalanced by the weight of her tote bag on one arm and the multiple large plastic bags of items she left the store with on the other. Ranma followed Nabiki with a confident swagger, similarly full bag in one hand and the wand in another. Her hair was back in the customary pigtail and she was whistling idly.

"That was the mission right? You got the thingamajig here and a bunch of other crap and I got a new martial arts scroll outta the deal, ta boot!" Ranma added, adding a skip to her step.

Nabiki didn't respond, merely making her way towards the train station, the color slowly returning to her face.

"So what're you gonna do with this thing anyway?" Ranma said, twirling the wand in her hand in front of Nabiki.

"Ever heard of the 'Sailor Senshi'?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma furrowed her brow, "Think I read about 'em in a magazine once. They an idol group or somethin'?"

"Or something. They're a vigilante group. Word on the street is they beat up muggers, rogue yakuza, other lowlifes. Other folks say they're monster hunters. They're based in Central Tokyo, so it's out of your old 'stomping grounds', so to speak."

"Huh. Monsters, huh? I'm almost disappointed. All I ever seem to get to fight are assholes. Maybe that's what I get for livin' in the sticks," Ranma replied.

"Well either way, they have a rather unique look and a certain popularity I think we can exploit. With that little artifact we found, you'd make a convincing Senshi."

"What kinda outfit are we talkin' here?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, you'll just have to wait and see," Nabiki said, a hint of mischievousness returning to her voice. Nabiki turned back and said, "Speaking of which, are you gonna give that back anytime soon or..."

"Huh?" Ranma asked, before realizing she was still twirling the wand in her hand, "Oh yeah."

Ranma made a move to give the wand to Nabiki, but stopped and said, "Actually, you mind if I hang on ta this?"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "Something you want to tell me, Ranma?"

Ranma shook her head, examining the wand closely, "No. It... I dunno. Somethin' I can't put my finger on."

Nabiki shrugged casually, "Suit yourself. Just don't forget it when we do the photoshoot and..." she flashed a feral grin, "a tip, if I may? If you ever need to 'contemplate' other smooth cylindrical objects, there's a couple of specialty shops I can show you around."

Ranma nodded blankly before stopping in her tracks. "W-what are you sayin'! Jeez, Nabiki. That's just gross."

Nabiki's laughter echoed as they descended the steps of the train station, "My little sister has rubbed off on you and not in the good way. Come off it, Saotome. You're gonna be twenty one at the end of the month. You've been half-girl almost five years now. Hell, you got your coming of age photos of yourself in a suit and in a kimono! I know you've at least thought about it."

Ranma stayed silent on the matter, though Nabiki noted the slightest hint of redness on his cheeks.

"I seem to recall a certain thing you had for Ryouga back in high school," Nabiki said.

"He hit me with a magic fishing rod!" Ranma yelled back "I wasn't actin' at all like myself."

Nabiki tilted her head non-chalantly. "Well I've seen his rod, and while I wouldn't call it magical, it was pretty impressive. Not exactly my type, though." Nabiki replied with a straight face as Ranma seemed to shrink further into her already baggy clothes.

"Jeez, I still get nightmares about that Nabiki..."

"Oh please." Nabiki said. "Good to see it has occurred to you at least once that having that body poses some interesting psycho-sexual dilemmas. At the very least, don't you think it'll be an issue when you get married to my sister?"

Ranma turned to her, embarrassed. "You gotta be so... I dunno, crass about it, though?" He shook his head. "I ain't plannin' on doing anything like that, anyway. I don't like guys n' Akane don't like girls, so, that's it. Issue resolved. I guess," Ranma said, the finality in her voice more than a little forced.

"I swear this family's love of denial will be death of me one of these days..." Nabiki muttered to herself as they made their way back towards Nerima.

* * *

Late that night, in a large park near Azabu-Juuban station in Minato Ward, Five women stood alone, the enemy they faced having just been scattered among the winds as so much ash and dust.

"Just when I was getting used to having eight hours of sleep a night, here we are again," Sailor Jupiter groused, brushing off some of the youma dust from her green skirt.

"Don't be so sour, Jupiter. It stands to reason that the threats to Earth wouldn't end just because we were able to retrieve the star seeds from the abyss of chaos." Sailor Mercury replied, making notes on her handheld computer.

"Yeah! Besides, it's only the third one this month. It's good practice," Venus remarked.

"And it was only two last month and one the month before. I don't like where this is going, "Sailor Mars noted. She looked behind her to see her leader, Sailor Moon, sitting on the ground in a tired heap.

"Sailor Moon? Are you okay?"

Sailor Moon nodded weakly, "Yeah, Mars. I think..." She sighed. "I'm just tired. I'm trying to catch up so I can pass the entrance exams, but..." she slumped again, "I'm sorry for letting everyone down."

"What are you talking about?" Sailor Venus rebutted, "you always pull through in the latch!"

The other senshi stared at Venus briefly before they walked over to a secluded alley and changed. The five girls strolled back towards home.

"I understand you're going through a rough time, Usagi. It's understandable you're tired," Ami said. Minako nodded in agreement.

"Look, Mamoru will be back from Boston in two weeks and I'm sure he'd be sad to see his 'Usako' look so down." Rei offered.

Usagi nodded, "Right. I'll just keep doing my best!" she smiled warmly for a moment before she froze. A gurgling noise came from her stomach, prompting Usagi to declare, "oh, wow I'm really hungry! Can we stop for ramen before we go home?"

"Okay, she's feeling better now," Makoto said with a smile.

* * *

A few days later, Ranma parked his motorcycle, an old Yamaha from the early 80s, in a pedestrian alley behind his boarding house in the middle of Meguro Ward. The run down building was nestled in between Setagaya Ward, where Nippon Sports Science University was, and Minato Ward, where Nabiki lived. He trudged up the stairs and entered the single room apartment. Ranma quietly shut the door behind him and sighed in relief.

"What a day..." he said to himself as he tossed his duffel bag by the door, "I need a drink." Ranma walked over to the small refrigerator he kept in the room and pulled out a can of beer.

There was a knock at his door.

"Who is it?"

"Delivery," came a light-hearted voice.

"Come on in, man," Ranma called out.

The door opened and a young man entered. He was tall, with long black hair tied back in a ponytail and held by a baseball cap with "Damino's Pizza" embroidered on the front. He wore a hoodie jacket, unzipped almost all the way, a loose t-shirt, and blue jeans.

Ranma reached back into the fridge and threw a beer at the young man. "Hey, Mousse."

"You just got home?" Mousse asked as he caught the can with one hand.

Ranma nodded as he set the can down on a low table, brushing aside a few empty cans from the night before.

"Yeah. My feet are killin' me. Had the night shift at the Library. You? How's the pizza business?"

"Not bad. Just got home myself. Want some leftovers? I was gonna go over to Mako's, but she's busy with homework."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, I'm starved."

From seemingly behind his back, Mousse produced a large pizza box. Opening it was half a cheese pizza, still hot.

"Nice. You gotta teach me how to keep stuff insulated."

Mousse set the box down at the table and sat down. "Depends. You figure out how to summon your riding gear yet?"

Ranma blanched. "Uh... One sec." Ranma stood and pulled his arms into his sleeves, producing a pair of gloves and a jacket. He then muttered, "Don't laugh at me, Peking Duck."He put a hand inside his jeans and produced a pair of racing leathers and, with a groan of effort, a motorcycle helmet.

Mousse rubbed his chin nodded. "Not bad, though really you should have enough room in the pants to put all of it so you can leave your sleeves free for weapons."

Ranma laughed as he reached over to grab a slice of pizza. He froze mid movement and shook his leg. From the cuff of his jeans, the crescent moon wand fell out.

Mousse let out a chuckle. "You know Ranma, I know your Jusenkyo curse gets you down some days, but that's no reason to compensate for any perceived lack of masculinity. Especially with something that pointy."

"Aren't we a goddamned comedian today?" Ranma grumbled as he picked up the wand. "'Biki found it at this junk shop she dragged me to last weekend. She's plannin' on some kinda cosplay photo deal. Makin' me up into a... watcha call it, a Sailor Sencha or something."

"A Sailor Senshi?"

"Yeah. Ya heard of 'em before?"

"You _do_ live in Tokyo, right? I mean, I know you go to jock school, but come on. You have to have read a newspaper every now and then. Shampoo and the ghoul collected newspapers clippings of those girls. I think in case they ever had to go to war with them," he mused.

"They're in the news?" Ranma asked, incredulous.

"Yeah. They've killed a bunch of monsters over the years. Recently, they've been stopping bank heists and other kinds of petty crime on top of the supernatural stuff in Central Tokyo."

Ranma nodded. "How come we never got any of that action back in Furinkan? The closest to a monster we ever got was the old pervert. Even the Bakeneko was just an whiny jackass."

Mousse nodded. "Cologne set up protective wards across most of Nerima, Itabashi, and Suginamu Ward," Mousse replied. "I have to check up on them every now and again to make sure they're still up. It was part of the deal we made so she'd help me get a visa to stay."

Ranma nodded as he stuffed a second slice of pizza into his mouth.

Mousse raised an eyebrow. "Anyways, why do you have that on you if it's Nabiki's? Planning on some kinky role-play with Akane later?"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "If she heard that, your ass'd be roasted with a side of orange sauce. It's... I dunno. Don't you think it looks kinda weird?"

"Lemme see that," Mousse said. Ranma handed him the wand. After a bit of fiddling, Mousse remarked, "I don't get it. Are you supposed to unscrew the bottom to put the batteries in? Does it light up or just vibrate?" He started laughing.

Ranma groaned. "It's always the sex jokes with you and Nabiki. What the hell?"

Mousse shrugged as he placed the wand back on the table. "If I had to guess about Nabiki, I'd say she was genuinely curious about being both sexes and teases you to not have to think about it."

"And you?"

"I just like fucking with you." Mousse chuckled at Ranma's reaction and then said, "I think I see what you mean, though. I'm getting a strange energy from it, but I can't say what exactly. If the old hag was still around, maybe she could help you. As it is, I'm stumped."

Ranma picked up the wand and twirled it in his hands, before inserting the wand into his back pocket, making it disappear.

"Oh!" Mousse gasped. "Nice trick. But you know, if you're gonna stick it up there, I'd recommend something with a flared base, instead."

Ranma blinked for a moment, before growing red with anger. "Get the fuck out of my apartment before I pluck all your feathers off, Mousse"

"Yes Ma'am," Mousse mock-saluted. He stood and put on his shoes. "Night neighbor."

"Night," Ranma said, waving as Mousse stepped out of the apartment.

After Mousse left, Ranma retrieved the wand from it's hiding spot. He studied it further, his eyes narrowing in concentration.

"What the hell are you?" he whispered. "And why do you seem so_ damn_ familiar?"

* * *

It was approaching ten in the evening when Sailor Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Venus arrived at Ueno Park. They gathered in front of the National Museum of Western Art.

"Where's Moon?" Mercury asked.

"Luna messaged me," Venus replied as she fiddled with the controls of the Mercury Computer. "Usagi's been ill the past few days. She has a bad cold."

"I never thought I'd say this, but that poor girl is working herself to death," Mars remarked.

"Well, let's do what we can. Anything, Mercury?" Jupiter asked.

Mercury shook her head. "No. There are a few spikes in nearby areas of the city, but no dark energy. It's strange, I could have sworn there was a large dark energy spike here this morning... "

"You sure it wasn't just a difficult homework assignment, Ms. 'Tokyo U. Freshman'?" Venus asked with a coy smile.

Mercury blushed, "I'm sorry guys. I wanted to stay one more year, but my mother and Principal Yamada insisted I try for the exams early and-"

Venus shook her head, "I'm sorry, Ami. I'm being mean. We're all really proud of you! You sure can unwrinkle while the iron's hot!"

"That's 'strike' while the iron's hot, Mina," Mars corrected.

"Why would you hit someone with an iron? That doesn't make any sense," Venus replied. "Anyway, let's keep our eyes and ears open. If we find another youma, call it in."

"Roger," The other three senshi said.

"I'm going to stay and run more tests," Mercury announced as she began analyzing the nearby grass and soil.

"I'll keep watch," Mars said.

Venus and Jupiter nodded and they walked away towards the edge of the park and back towards the city streets.

"Hey Venus," Jupiter asked, "Where are the Outers? I didn't see Hotaru in school today."

"They're off on another musical tour. North America this time. I think Michiru got Hotaru in the act singing," Venus replied.

"Aww... It was fun having Hotaru around, even if she's just a freshman," Makoto pouted.

"That's true. She looks super adorable in the Juuban High uniform!"

Upon reaching the road, they ducked behind some bushes and reverted to their civilian selves. The ended up on the streets walking home. It was somewhat busy with pedestrians and the occasional late-night jogger.

"So Mina..." Makoto said, "When are you gonna talk to her?"

"Huh?" Minako asked, distracted.

"You said this was gonna be the year, right? You announced to everyone at karaoke last Christmas that, and I quote, 'The Goddess of Love isn't going to graduate high school a virgin!'"

Minako rolled her eyes "I was drunk when I said that."

"I know. You puked on my couch afterwards," Jupiter reminded, which caused Venus to laugh nervously. "That doesn't make it any less true, Mina."

"Okay, okay," Minako said, raising her hands in defeat. "I'll think about it. It's just... How do you go up to someone and just say, 'Hey. I think you're cool and I know I'm a dork and we're both girls, but do you wanna go out?'"

"You could try that," Makoto said.

"No way!" Minako let out a disgruntled moan. "You just don't get how hard this is, Mako-chan. You _have_ a boyfriend."

"Thank goodness," Makoto sighed in relief. "I don't think I could handle the drama of having a thing for a teammate."

"Thanks Mako-chan. Your words inspire confidence in me." Minako replied.

Back at Ueno Park, Sailor Mercury had pulled out a small forensics kit and began performing a soil sample analysis. Sailor Mars, meanwhile, stood nearby, keeping watch as Mercury focused on her task. Mercury, with a small tool, dug up a piece of soil near the museum steps and placed it in a glass tube before inserting it into a small crystal chamber. She plugged in a cable running from the chamber to the Mercury Computer.

"Hmmm. I'm picking up residual dark energy near the museum, but... it's too faint. Whatever it was, it hasn't been here in a few days. Hopefully the computer will give me something to work with."

"Oh..." Mars looked around. "Hey, Mercury, can I ask a personal question?"

"Always, Mars. What is it?"

"Do you... do you think that it's weird if..."

"If what?"

Mars audibly gulped. "Let's say hypothetically... If a girl... uh, likes another girl? Hypothetically, of course."

"You mean like Haruka and Michiru?"

Mars waved a hand in front of her. "Yeah. I guess."

"Do _you_ think they're weird?" Ami asked pointedly as she adjusted a knob on the analyzing chamber.

Mars shook her head rapidly. "No!" She paused. "Okay... Maybe a little bit? But that's because Michiru is so refined and elegant and Haruka is... She's not exactly a regular girl. They also like being mysterious for no good reason," she said with a bit of a scowl.

Ami nodded as she inspected a grasshopper before gently letting it go. "I suppose so. But regardless, I don't see anything wrong with it." She began typing code into the computer. "I doubt any of us would give you a hard time over it."

Mars waved her hands. "I didn't say anything about myself! I said hypothetically."

"Yes, right," Mercury blankly nodded as she read the output on the Mercury computer. She let out a sigh, shook her head, and rubbed her eyes. "No good. I'm getting a directional pattern of the energy, eastwards, but once you hit pavement, it gets drowned out by all the other energy signatures." She looked up at Mars. "If we were in the countryside I could track them, but in Tokyo? It's too noisy to get a clear signal."

"So we're at a dead end?" Mars asked.

Mercury shook her head and she put away her materials. "Not at all. Now that I have a more detailed picture of the energy readout, I can make the detectors more sensitive to this specific form of dark energy. If whoever or whatever shows up nearby again, we can act more quickly."

Mars nodded. "That's good."

"And really Rei," Mercury said in a light tone as she stood and brushed her knees, "we don't care who you're with as long as you're happy. That's all that matters."

"Ah, yeah." Mars nervously chuckled. "Let's go home."

* * *

That Sunday, Nabiki had moved the furniture in her already sparsely decorated apartment to one side. It was a small, but well-kept apartment in Azabu-Juuban, only a few miles away from Temple University. For the sake of some background noise, she had the radio on, which was currently playing the tail-end of a news broadcast.

"And in science news, a treat for the whole country as tonight, at 10:56 PM, we'll have a total Lunar Eclipse visible in Japan. This marks the first total lunar eclipse visible in Japan since 1993 and the last total lunar eclipse of the century. In baseball, Akira Tsudou of the Nippon Ham Fighters was traded to..."

Nabiki put up a green curtain and set up a rather expansive array of fresnel lights and reflectors. She placed gaffers tape on the wood floor and set to work setting up the space. She looked at her phone impatiently when she heard a knock at the door. When Nabiki opened the door, the red-headed Ranma entered quickly, looking irritated.

"You're late, Ranma. It's almost ten," Nabiki said.

Ranma threw her duffel bag and motorcycle helmet aside. "Yeah, yeah 'Biki. My shift ran late. I swear, if one more lonely otaku spends alla' his time lookin' at my rack while buyin' 200 yen worth of fries and black coffee, I'm gonna splash myself with warm water and give 'em a piece of my mind."

"That would probably be awkward in that dress," Nabiki said as she pressed a button on a light meter.

Ranma glanced down at her uniform, which consisted of a jumper-style dress, which was similar to the Furinkan High uniform, except that it was cut so that the 'waistline' cut underneath her breasts, emphasizing that particular bit of anatomy to any and all customers. "Well I asked for the waiter's uniform, but my boss put the kibosh on that. Turns out, they don't make pants small enough for the girl type. I tell ya, Nabiki, why do I gotta be such a shrimp?"

"Jusenkyo has a sense a humor," Nabiki said as she adjusted a light. "Now get changed. Costume's on my bed."

"Yeah, yeah... no respect..." Ranma muttered as she wandered off towards the bedroom. A minute later, Ranma yelled through the wall, "This is the outfit!?"

"Yep."

Ranma traipsed out of Nabiki's room. To her chagrin, Ranma noted the white lyrca/cotton fabric of the leotard at least breathed and wasn't too constrictive. But the bright red skirt felt criminally short, particularly since a similarly low cut outfit worn to compete in Martial Arts Ballroom Dancing almost got her arrested. In contrast, the gloves seemed ridiculously long, and the red, mary-jane style heels seemed completely impractical to fighting gravity, let alone a demon.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Ranma moaned.

Nabiki bit back a laugh. "Nope. And you forgot the accessories, hair and makeup."

Ranma opened her mouth to reply, but found herself speechless. She trudged back to the room, grumbling under her breath.

* * *

"This isn't stray youma cleanup anymore, is it?" Sailor Mars asked no one in particular as desperately flung a wave of holy fire outwards at the small group of dark beings in front of her. To her chagrin, many of them had dodge them with a dexterity not usually seen in minions.

What had begun as a late night 'cheer up' visit to Usagi, who had just recovered from a sudden illness the week before, had become, in a manner of speaking, a veritable clusterfuck.

"You got that right!" Venus said as she jumped out of the way of a blast of dark energy.

There were three youma assembled in front of them. They were vaguely humanoid shaped, but covered in a cloud of dark energy. They didn't really speak, aside from a hoarse grumble that sounded much like television static. To Jupiter's surprise, the youma were not preparing a magical attack. They had moved to a defensive triangle and placed their arms up.

"Is that..." Jupiter whispered before her eyes widened suddenly.

"Watch out guys! That's a kung fu stance!"

"What!" Mars said before she was knocked aside by a flying kick.

"Sailor Mars!" Sailor Venus cried out, looking back barely in enough time to block a strike.

"You bastards!" Jupiter spat before jumping in the fray, going toe to toe with one of the youma

"Defensive positions!" Mercury yelled as she helped Mars up.

* * *

Almost an hour later, Ranma was growing tired of the crazy gesticulating Nabiki had instructed her to do while in the abbreviated costume. Her hair was always warmer when it draped loose rather than put up and the clip-on star earrings were starting to hurt. She reached over and grabbed a towel, dabbing the sweat off her made up forehead.

"I'm sweatin' like a pig here under these lights, 'biki! I need a break."

"Okay okay, take five. Calm your tits, Ranma."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Ha, fuckin' ha. You sure those senshi people wear this kinda getup?"

Nabiki inspected her shots. "I got it commissioned by a cosplay fan in my marketing class. I gave her known photographs and news footage. It's as accurate as it gets."

Ranma huffed. "It's like it was designed by a committee made up of Happousai, Kuno, and that creep in my social psych seminar."

Nabiki nodded in agreement. "Okay, break's over. Now look at the camera, Ranma. Smile! Do that innocent shtick of yours." Nabiki said.

Ranma nodded and tried to channel her best 'piss off Ryouga' routine, but something felt off-kilter as she danced around. "Shouldn't I be sayin' somethin' Sailor Senshi-like? What do they even talk about anyway?" Ranma said, somehow scowling behind the feigned smile and coquettish gesticulation.

Nabiki thought about that question as she kept taking shots. "Stuff about the Moon and the planets. It doesn't really matter, you know, but if you want to get into character, by all means 'Sailor Ranko'."

Ranma rolled her eyes at the remark, "You've been waiting all week for that joke, haven't ya? Lemme think of somethin'."

Outside of the apartment, a shadow grew over the moon, until, for a seemingly interminable moment, the night sky was swallowed in darkness.

Ranma stared at the wand for a moment, examining it's heft and how much it shined in the glow of the stage lights. Suddenly, a smile crept onto her face and she extended her arm out.

"Moon Crystal Power! Make Up!"

Then everything went black.

* * *

The battle had been a pitched affair with the Sailor Senshi being overwhelmed physically, but slowly whittling down the youma;'s attacks with the use of their energy attacks It was still a battle of attrition, however, and the Senshi were growing tired, Sailor Moon included.

Usagi still hadn't fully recovered from her sudden bout of illness. The doctor at the clinic couldn't explain it, though Luna had jokingly made fun of her for catching a cold in summer. She had gotten a few good hits with her old standby Moon Tiara Action, but the only reason she wasn't more hurt was because her fellow Senshi had thrown themselves out to protect her. It made her feel guilty she couldn't do more, but the buzzing in her head, the soreness on her muscles, and feeling of lightness started to come back. She felt a lump in her throat and swallowed.

"Everyone, give me an opening," Sailor Moon said as she grabbed the Eternal Tiare and began to focus her energy.

The Senshi looked at each other briefly, before nodding and forming a wall in front of Sailor Moon.

"Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

"Burning Mandala!"

"Love and Beauty Shock!"

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

The wave of attacks pushed the three youma back. They were weakened, but still alive.

"Now Sailor Moon!" Venus cried out.

With a twirl of the Eternal Tiare, Sailor Moon focused her energy. She seemed to brighten under the darkening night sky. She held the rod outwards and called out in slow clear words as the sky blackened.

"Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Ki-!" She barely got the last word out as the wave of pink light flooded outwards, enveloping the cornered youma, turning them to dust.

Of greater importance was Sailor Moon who, after sending out the attack, cried out in pain. With a flash of light, Sailor Moon turned back into Usagi. She fell to her knees, her eyes rolled back, and she fell over.

"Eternal Sailor Moon!"

The four senshi ran over. As Mercury and Venus were tending to Usagi a chill wind blew threw the park and ghostly laughter echoed around them.

Mars and Jupiter turned, searching wildly for the presence.

"Who's there?" Mars called out..

The voice called out, with a deathly cackling laugh, "Chaos has beeen rebornnnn..."

The sky brightened once more, the nearly full moon shining brightly once more. Jupiter and Mars actively scanned the area as Venus and Mercury gently lifted the unconscious Usagi. Within moments, they headed off into the night.

There was silence that hung in the air between Ranma and Nabiki. Part of this was due to the fact that power suddenly went out in the apartment, plunging them into near darkness. Part of this was because the reason they weren't standing completely in the dark was due to the fact a pale white light was emanating from Ranma.

"Um..." Nabiki's jaw dropped, unable to form a coherent sentence. Nabiki noted that Ranma seemed to almost hover in the air about an inch off the ground.

"Guess the circuit breaker tripped, huh?" Ranma said nervously, "is the breaker box in your apartment? Gonna be kind of late to call the super otherwise and..."

Ranma blinked as Nabiki stood there, silent unmoving, her eyes widened.

"What's with you, 'Biki? Fine! I'll go find the power switch." Ranma started slowly walking around. "That's funny," she muttered to herself, "I'm feeling kind of floaty. Like I'm tipsy or somethin'..."

Ranma shook her head. "Weird." She turned back towards Nabiki, who was slowly coming back from her brief visit to Catatonia. "That's it, I'm gettin' out of this getup," Ranma declared. "I think I need some water, maybe a sports drink. Gettin' dizz-" Ranma passed out onto the floor.

* * *

The odango-braided blonde slowly awoke, groaning softly.

"Usagi!" a chorus of voices exclaimed.

"Huh? Where am I?"

"You're at the shrine," Rei said. "It was the closest place to take you."

"Are you okay?" Makoto asked.

Usagi nodded. "I think so. I just felt so weak all of a sudden. My knees gave out and everything faded to black."

"Can you stand up?" Minako asked.

"I'm not sure..." Usagi removed the covers and slowly stood up. He legs were a bit shaky and she leaned against the much taller Makoto for support.

"Guys, I-" Usagi shook her head. "I don't feel good. I feel... empty."

The other girls didn't know what to say. Ami was looking at her computer furiously typing up notes.

Usagi felt a wave of nausea and dizziness and sat back down on Rei's bed.

"I... I think I wanna go home."

"Sure Usagi. We'll walk with you," Minako offered.

Usagi put her legs up on the bed and hugged her knees. She thought to herself, "Mamoru... help me."

* * *

After turning the power back on her apartment and pouring herself two fingers of scotch, Nabiki looked down at the unconscious Ranma Saotome. The red and black Sailor Senshi uniform she had commissioned has turned into a mostly blue and white affair, with red knee-length boots replacing the heels. Two red baubles were attached to her unbraided hair, pinning back her bangs. A golden tiara seemed attached to her head. Taking the whole thing in, faint glow included, Nabiki almost felt bad waking the cherubic figure she called her sister's boyfriend up.

Almost. She knelt down next to Ranma and lightly slapped her cheek. When she got a loud snore in return, Nabiki slapped Ranma again with less delicacy and more frustration. When that failed to rouse her, Nabiki filled a highball glass with water and ice and threw it at her face.

Ranma sat up immediately, spitting out water and yelling, "I'm late for work!" She looked around wildly.

"Welcome back, Saotome," Nabiki said before taking a sip of her scotch.

"What... what happened?" Ranma asked, rubbing her temples.

"No idea," Nabiki said. She sighed. "So what's with the light show?" Nabiki pointed to Ranma's torso with her highball glass..

"What're ya..." Ranma began to ask before looking down and seeing the faint glow her body and outfit emitted. "Oh. That ain't good, is it?" she asked.

"Hell if I know." Nabiki said before finishing her glass. She walked over to pour herself another and, after a second to consider, began to pour Ranma a glass as well.

Ranma took the glass with a nod and took a sip. After getting over the strong taste of the Scotch Whisky, she asked, "Um... how do I get outta this thing?"

Nabiki walked over to her couch, which she moved against the window of her apartment, and sat. "Again, I'm at a loss to what you even did."

Ranma started fiddling with the various bows, brooches, and ribbons of her costume. When nothing seemed to work, she threw up her hands and practically whimpered, "Oh, lemme out of this thing!"

As quickly as it appeared, the fancy costume was replaced with the comparatively plain outfit she was wearing earlier.

"Well what do you know..." Nabiki said, "Neat trick."

Ranma sighed. She grabbed her glass and downed the rest of the scotch, prompting her to almost retch afterwards.

"I'm done, 'Biki. I'm gonna take a shower. If you got any beer, I'll take one." Nabiki nodded and Ranma stormed off.

It was about five minutes later, when Nabiki was rifling through her fridge when she was startled by a distinctly high-pitched cry:

"Dammit!"

There was loud swearing for about fifteen minutes, then silence. About an hour later, Ranma, wearing a pair of loose jeans and a billowy t-shirt, walked out to Nabiki's living room. She was toweling off her wet hair. Her face looked pale, her eyes red, and her expression blank.

"I think I need more of whatever you're having..." Ranma said.

* * *

Author Notes: It begins. If anyone feels like trawling Wikipedia, they can figure out when exactly this story takes place. For the record, Ranma drives a 1984 Yamaha XS650. He spent 6 months raising the money for the license and required classes. Previously, he used 1980 Yamaha QT-50 Scooter which, if you search on google, you will note is essentially a gas-powered children's bicycle.

Next Chapter: Mourning the loss of power and, incidentally, penises. Also, the non-sexual harassment-related perils of the food service industry.

Thanks to Frice2000 and Kevin Hammel at fukufics for reading and my friend and collaborator Unsurpassed Travesty for being a sounding board for my ideas.

Please read and review this and all my other works.

From a sunny, if mostly internet-less, beach in Southern Florida:

～裏には裏がある


	3. Chapter 2 - Contact

In the dead of night just a few hours after the eclipse, among the partially cloudy skies over Tokyo, a keen observer would have noted the black aircraft which lazily drifted over the horizon among the clouds. Though it flew in the air, its design was reminiscent of a Chinese Junk. Over what appeared to be a sail, emblazoned in bright gold:

**宝**

The Takarabune entered a cloudy patch of sky and disappeared.

Inside the ship, cloaked in a misty darkness, save for the banks of computers, their screens glowing with a sickly green light. Several alien beings are at work, the light placing them in silhouette. At the bow of the ship sat a figure, his face masked by his crimson and gold robe.

"Daikokuten... Yebisu..." the figured choked out in a deathly voice.

At once two figures appeared from the mist. They appeared to be middle-aged men, not very tall and rather squat in shape. They were dressed in loose traveling kimono. Red oni masks covered their faces. The figure on the left had on a green cap and held a wooden mallet in his left hand. The one on the right carried a bamboo fishing pole in his right hand.

"Yes, my lord." The two figures kneeled, their heads bowed.

"It is time. You two have been chosen to begin our operations."

"Yes, my lord," the two figures said again, "The Number 6 and Number 7 Gods of Misfortune will not fail you!"

At the lord's nod, the two gods disappeared. The shrouded figure let out a slow, raspy laugh.

"Heh, heh, heh... You know not what awaits you, Serenity."

* * *

Pinch Hitter

Chapter 2: Contact

* * *

It was late at night when Akane Tendo let out a yawn as she closed her textbook. She had finished reviewing the three chapters for her Psychology Course. Akane's room was mostly dark and her roommate at Tokyo Metropolitan University, Aki, was already asleep.

Her studies in Psychology and Education had jumped rather quickly in difficulty and she found herself with little time to do anything outside of class and her job as a kempo instructor at a local school. It was little more than glorified babysitting, teaching elementary schoolers basic forms and how to punch, kick, and block, but it was rewarding. However, the last time she had be able to see Ranma was during Golden Week and even then so much of the time was spent with her father and the Saotomes that she had barely spent any quiet time with Ranma by themselves. She had regretted it when she got back to her apartment in Hachioji.

Akane moved to turn off her desk lamp and go to bed herself when the phone rang. She picked it up.

"Hello?" she whispered.

"Akane!" Nabiki yelled.

"Sis? It's one in the morning!" She hissed. "Is everything okay?"

"Well... that depends on your definition of okay." she admitted.

Akane sighed. "What happened? Are Daddy and Uncle Saotome in jail again?"

"Not quite..." Nabiki hesitated as soft moaning could be heard in the background, "wait a sec, I think he's coming around... here ya go."

"Huh? Hello?" Akane asked.

"-kane?" Ranma said weakly.

Akane was only mildly surprised to hear Ranma's girl voice. "Ranma! Are you okay?" she asked.

"Dunno... I was standin' around, then the power went out and I felt so dizzy," she said dreamily. "I had the nicest dream. We were in a fancy hotel room and I ate a huuuge ice cream sundae and then I was touchin' your boobs. And then you touched mine. And then you poured your tea on me and touched my-"

"Put Nabiki on the phone."

"Uh, Akane?" Nabiki said.

"You called me in the middle of the night to tell me you got my boyfriend drunk," she stated flatly.

"No... It's not that. Not exactly. He needed the alcohol. Something happened to Ranma. He's not in a good way."

"Did he think he could down a fifth of whiskey again? Typical macho-"

"No! It's-" Nabiki tried to explain but she was interrupted by a loud wailing that Akane could hear over the phone line.

"Ahh! I miss my dick already..."

"Shit, he's trying to shower in his clothes again! I gotta go!" Nabiki said.

"Nabiki! Wait! What-" Akane pulled the phone away when she realized Nabiki had hung up.

"Something wrong, Akane?" Aki said, sleepily.

Akane shook her head. "No. My boyfriend, sh-he apparently, um, hit his head or something. My sister is watching him."

"Do you need to go see him?" Aki said.

Akane thought about it. It was late, and Nabiki's place was 50 kilometers away. Even if the trains were running, which they weren't, it'd take at least an hour and a half to get there. "I'm worried, but... no, Nabiki can take care of him if he needs it. I'll call in the morning to see how he is," she said.

"Okay. Well, g'night Akane," Aki said she rolled over.

"Night," Akane said. She turned off the desk lamp and got into bed, but she found it hard to get to sleep that night. She seriously considered changing into her gi and running over, but she shook her head.

"No, it's okay. Ranma just did something stupid. Whatever it is, Nabiki can take care of it," she said to herself, though it didn't reassure her as much as she wished.

* * *

Nabiki looked down at Ranma, who was splayed on the floor, groaning slightly in a repeat of events a few hours before. She gave the martial artist a kick. "Okay Saotome, snap out of it!"

Ranma turned her attention towards Nabiki. "Why should I? I'm fuckin' locked!"

"I think this is more serious than just your curse."

"What's more serious than that?" she asked vehemently. "Do you know how disgusting the hallway toilet is in my place? Barely tolerable standing, but now I gotta-"

"I don't even believe- did you even look at yourself? You were glowing! This isn't just some vindictive Chinese magic somebody hexed you with!"

Ranma blinked and sat up. She began patting her hands all over her body. From the sleeve of her shirt, she pulled out the wand.

"It was this piece of junk!" Ranma declared.

"Well_ obviously_. You did something when you started talking. What did you say again?

"Hell if I know," Ranma spat out. "I just said the first thing that came ta mind. If I thought saying the secret word would lock my curse, I'd have taken up sign writing like Pops."

"Well I'd probably start thinking about what it was that came to mind and _quickly_," Nabiki said. "After you sober up, anyway."

Ranma stood up slowly, holding her head with one hand. "Dammit... Hey 'Biki, can I just crash here tonight? I'm too drunk to drive home and I- nevermind."

Nabiki looked at Ranma. "He may have a better poker face, but he's scared shitless." She thought. "Just so you know, I have a lecture at eight," Nabiki warned.

Ranma nodded as she tied her hair into a loose ponytail and flopped onto the couch. "Works for me. I gotta get up at seven. Got my Kinesiology Seminar, then work."

"Aren't we busy. What are you going to do about your little problem?"

Ranma grunted. "What about it? I ain't gonna solve it tonight. And 'sides, it ain't like a life or death secret or nothin'. Just a pain in my ass."

Nabiki looked at her sudden houseguest as she began snoring on her couch. After draping a blanket on Ranma, she went to bed.

* * *

It was early in the morning when Usagi woke up. She was disoriented, unsure where she was at first. As her eyes cleared she realized she was in her room. She found it somewhat funny that it had changed little since middle school, only the large numbers of photos of her friends, Mamoru, and Chibi-Usa really marking the passage of time. She saw a large photo of all of her friends, Naru and Umino included and smiled faintly.

She then recalled the events of the night before and the smile faded. She stayed in bed, trying to suss out everything that had happened, but everything felt unreal, as though she was waking up from a nightmare.

"Usagi?" a voice softly cried out. "Are you awake?"

The blonde teenager rolled over on her side and looked at the floor. She saw one of her best friends and advisor licking her right paw.

"Morning, Luna. I feel like I've slept for ages," Usagi said.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Luna asked. Usagi felt her stomach drop.

"Sort of." She sat up and summoned the Ginzuishou. In her hand, the crystal shone brilliantly and she could feel her will and her life force flow between herself and the crystal. However, she felt that there was something different, something that wasn't present, yet deeply painful.

"We were fighting the youma. I tried to defeat them, but... when I was summoning my attack, I felt like there was a rubber band inside me that snapped."

"Have you tried becoming Sailor Moon since then?"

Usagi shook her head. "I'll try Luna."

She summoned the Holy Grail and held it in her hands as she closed her eyes. Usagi whispered:

"Silver Moon Crystal Power, Make Up."

Usagi wasn't surprised that she didn't change into her alter-ego, but she was left troubled. She could feel the magic welling up inside of her, but it was as if it had hit a wall in her heart. Or like she had taken a breath and all the air went into only one lung. Usagi felt the magic hang suspended until, nowhere to go, it dissipated back within her.

She laid back down in her bed and began weeping quietly.

* * *

Ranma wasn't so much hung over from the alcohol as she was from the reality of what happened finally dawning on her. A third shower in the morning still hadn't reversed the condition and, as much as she racked her brain, she couldn't remember what she had said that caused the problem in the first place.

Either way, when she left Nabiki's apartment, she got on her motorcycle and made a quick stop home to change into a fresh pair of jeans, a t-shirt and, since she would be female for the foreseeable future, a grey sports bra. She also picked up her school books and a few other documents before heading down to Setagaya Ward and the campus of her alma mater, Nippon Sports Science University.

NSSU wasn't a very large school in terms of its student population, but it was home to some of the finest athletes in the country. Counter to many Tokyo-area schools, the campus was wide and green with a large number of athletic fields, gymnasiums, and practice spaces for the various student-athletes the school admitted into their programs. Ranma herself had entered on a Martial Arts scholarship which, along with the possibility of majoring in Health Science along with Martial Arts, meant she had focused on school in a way she never had in high school.

After a quick stop to grab tea and onigiri from the student center, she made it to her 9AM seminar right on time. It was a medium-sized class for the school. There were about 25 students and the class was held in a small room with a podium and two whiteboards in the front and four rows of stadium-style seating. She sat as her usual spot, center in the second row. Ranma took copious notes. She noted the occasional stares from classmates who didn't know her from classes the previous year. It occurred to Ranma that the few times she had to come to class in cursed form she had sat all the way in the back of the room, more from being late than any sort of embarrassment. Still, aside from that it felt like any other day.

That illusion of normalcy, however, ended five minutes before the end of class when the professor stared at Ranma quizzically. He was a short, thin man in the latter part of middle age. Bald, he wore a cheap suit and had a habit of wiping his forehead with a handkerchief during his lectures. The man had taken to tenure with the same gusto as a prisoner embracing freedom. That is, he had run screaming from all of his obligations besides the minimum required to keep his job. Thus, he had been teaching this undergraduate course with all the enthusiasm and fervor of a comatose patient on auto-pilot.

"Miss?"

It took Ranma scanning the room for other female students to realize it was her he was talking to. She looked at the middle-aged man. "Uh, yeah professor?"

"Are you in the Women's College?"

"Damn it." Ranma thought, realizing of course, those days were one in which she got caught in the rain. "Uh, no... Just a regular student, sir," she replied. She heard the soft laughter of a few students from her department.

"Really?"

Ranma cursed inwardly, hoping he wouldn't ask her her name. That wish granted, the Professor instead decided to rant at her, "I may not take attendance here, but I seriously doubt you will pass the final exam at the end of the month with that sort of record, Miss."

Ranma hung her head and nodded. "Yes, Professor."

Addressing the class as a whole once more, he said, "Well with that, good luck everyone."

Ranma sighed as she put her notebook away. "Damn it, gonna have to explain it to him. Idiot'd probably think I took the test for myself. Thank gods for Tofu," she thought as she patted her backpack.

* * *

"This sucks," Makoto said, as she pulled out a tuft of grass by the tree she and Minako were sitting at during lunch period the next day. Neither of the two were particularly hungry.

Senior Year had proven to be quieter and more lonely than it had been in years before when six of the senshi attended the school. With Haruka and Michiru and, later, Ami, graduating to college, it had gotten a smaller and quieter. With the absence of young Hotaru and, more crucially, the cheery, over-energetic Usagi, it felt like an especially lonely day at Juuban High.

"Any word from Ami?" Minako asked.

Makoto shook her head. "No. She said she was going to start an analysis of the readings soon, but she has a term paper for her seminar on Naturalist Literature, and final exams in her classes in Neuroanatomy, Discrete Mathematics, and Organic Chemistry."

"Those are actual subjects?" Minako asked.

"...right." Makoto said, "Did Usagi talk to you?"

Minako shook her head. "Luna called me. She's not feeling well. She isn't sick, just..." She frowned. "She's depressed."

"What do we do if Usagi can't... you know?" Makoto asked,

Minako replied bluntly, "We do what we've sworn to do. Protect the Queen at all costs."

"But those youma..." Makoto thought to herself as the bell for the next period rang.

* * *

A university library may, at first glance, appear to be a stifling work environment for someone as high energy as Ranma Saotome. Then again, this was the Nippon Sports Science University's Health Sciences library and, while most of the students were of human-proportioned strength and aggression, some rivaled the old Nerima gang in their strength, speed, and pig-headed stubbornness. During finals week, even that distinction was dropped as students would run around the building, using far more energy than was strictly necessary to chase down the correct textbook or journal article for a term paper.

This made the job more like bouncing than filing, which Ranma appreciated. The fact that, for a library, the staff was surprisingly athletic further added to the positive workplace chemistry. Ranma dug the combination of physically fit, active people who were also easy-going, laid back librarians. They were especially proud of the intramural softball championship trophy the library staff had held onto for almost a decade.

Of course, today would test that easy-going attitude as Ranma made her way behind the checkout desk and punched into work. She then headed back towards a small booth near the entrance of the library. She broke out a textbook and began reading, glancing up whenever someone entered or exited the building.

About an hour into her shift, the head librarian entered the building. He was a tall, leanly muscled man who looked more like a welterweight boxer than an accomplished researcher and archivist.

"Who are you? Where's Saotome?" the librarian asked.

"Um, I am Saotome, Dr. Yamada," Ranma replied.

"What are you talking about? Where's Saotome!"

Ranma reached into her duffel bag and pulled out a manila folder. She handed it to him.

"Here Boss. I don't really like ta talk about it, but this is from my doctor back home. You can call him or Coach Abe in the Martial Arts department. They'll vet me."

Dr. Yamada looked opened the folder and looked at the contents.

"Sudden Onset Chromosomal Shifting Disorder?" he muttered as he quickly scanned the pages of the document.

Ranma nodded, putting on her best pokerface. "Yeah... Had it for a while now. Usually it's okay, but sometimes I get stuck in one form or the other," she said, trying to appear casual.

"I take it this is one of those times?" he said, taking a breath..

"Yep. Dunno when I'll be fixed, but I hope it'll be soon."

"Hmm..." Dr. Yamada sounded dubious. "What floor do we stack oversized books?"

Without missing a beat, Ranma replied, "Trick question, Oversized books go on a side shelf near the elevator of whatever floor they're supposed to be in."

Dr. Yamada nodded. "Okay then. I'll give ol' Abe a call then. I take it you'd like me not to tell anyone?"

Ranma shrugged. "All my friends back home know about it, so it ain't exactly a secret, but I'd appreciate it if ya didn't blab it to just anybody, boss."

Dr. Yamada blinked, as if her reaction were stronger evidence than a folder or knowledge of library policy. "That's fair, Saotome." He handed the folder back to Ranma. "One issue though... You don't exactly project the certain 'strong-arm' image we like to see in our security detail."

"Well I ain't as strong as a girl, but I can still bench about..." Ranma strained in thought "What the hell is a number that won't scare the shit outta him?" she finally said, hesitantly "a hundred... eighty kilos?" Ranma walked towards a book cart by the checkout desk. She bent down and, with a hand, easily lifted the book cart and balanced it on a finger.

Dr. Yamada blinked, but nodded approvingly. "Okay, but how are you going to deal with-"

"It's Adenosine Triphosphate, Jun!" A young man yelled out suddenly from the study area. He was tall and rather thin

"Oh my god, Shuu! It's Adenosine Di-Phosphate! The cell needs to spend the phosphate group to do work!" The other young man was somewhat short, but much broader in stature.

"You're full of shit. I wrote it down on my notes here." Shuu said, pointed tapping on a notebook with his fingers. "ATP!"

"ADP!"

"I swear Jun, if you say 'ADP' one more time, I'm gonna wring your neck."

"A...D-"

Ranma grabbed the collar of Jun's shirt and pulled him up from his seat to eye level.

"There a problem here, gentlemen?" she asked coldly.

The two of them looked askance at Ranma, "Who the hell are you?"

"Library Staff. I'm required to ask politely that you please refrain from making noise. There are other patrons who would like to study for their exams."

"And what are you gonna do about it?"

Ranma let a feral smile slip, her teeth showing through her smirk. She always liked it when people thought they were making her job harder. She struck out with her left hand towards the table. With two fingers, she touched the notebook in question and said, "Bakusai Tenketsu." With a small pop, reminiscent of a bottle rocket, the notebook exploded into confetti. The two men's expression turned to ones of horror.

"Now take it outside or I'll do the same to the both of ya," she warned.

After Ranma escorted the two men out, she looked at Dr. Yamada and asked, "Good enough?"

"Good enough," Dr. Yamada noted, nodding approvingly. "Get back to work."

"Got it, boss," she nodded as she returned to her post.

Dr. Yamada looked up questioningly at the heavens as he sauntered to his office. "Good kid, just a little..." he muttered.

Ranma settled back into her work, keeping an eye on the now whisper quiet library. That is, until a tall, thin, black-haired young man walked up with what was meant to be a confident smile, but showed too much teeth. His hair seemed slicked back with a grease-like substrate and the black t-shirt he wore needed to be a size larger and less dandruff-covered than the one he was currently wearing.

"'Sup?" He asked. "Doing anything after your shift?"

Ranma fought the urge to maim him on the spot. She needed the paycheck, after all.

* * *

After school on Monday, Minako, Makoto, and Rei showed up to Usagi's door and rang the doorbell. As expected, Ikuko Tsukino opened the door.

"Oh, hi girls. Did you stop by to see Usagi?"

"Yes, Mrs. Tsukino," the three said in chorus.

"Oh, where is Ami?"

"She has a class lecture in the late afternoon," Makoto explained.

Ikuko nodded, with a slight frown. "Oh, that's too bad. Tokyo University must be very tiring for her."

"I think she's okay," Minako said as Ikuko led them up the stairs and into her daughter's room.

Inside, the three girls found Usagi reading, not her usual manga, but a textbook, reflecting her recent turn towards academics. Minako and Makoto stodd in front of Usagi's bed, while Rei grabbed her desk chair and sat down, legs crossed at the knee.

"How are you doing Usagi?" Makoto asked.

"I'm… I'm okay," she said hesitantly. "I was just more tired than I thought and I can tell Ms. Kanou that I was still not over my cold last week. But I'm really happy to see you guys!" she smiled.

"Where's Luna?"

"She said she was going to the command center with Artemis, but I bet the two of them are sleeping the afternoon away on Mina's bed," Usagi laughed nervously at her joke.

Rei cleared her throat, "Usagi. I know this is a tough question to ask, but… hell, I'm used to being the mean one. Can you change into Sailor Moon?"

Usagi froze, swallowing the lump forming in her throat. She shook her head. "I can feel the magic of the Ginzuishou, but… I couldn't do it."

Rei grimly nodded. Makoto sat down at Usagi's left and gave the smaller girl a big hug. Minako then sat down on Usagi's right and took her hand.

"Usagi. We're here for you 100 percent. We're your sworn protectors, but more than that, we're your friends."

Usagi nodded, leaning against Makoto's arms.

Minako grimaced before continuing. "Maybe, for now, it would be good if you stayed out of fighting until we can figure out what happened to you and who's behind it. It isn't safe to be in a fight without your powers."

Usagi nodded slowly, "Y-yeah. I don't want to slow everybody down."

Minako paled. "No, I mean... whoever did this may have stripped you of your power in order to draw you out. It's safer is you stay hidden until we have a better idea of what they want."

"You're Sailor Moon, but also, more importantly, you're the future Neo-Queen Serenity. We can't risk you getting in the crossfire for no good reason," Rei said, adding in a maternal voice, "You better stay safe, dumpling head. You hear me?"

Usagi noted Minako's face scruch up slightly and smiled. "Yes Rei," Usagi said, nodding. She looked around at the other three girls. "Thanks guys. I don't think I could be strong without you."

"You're important to the galaxy and the future, Usagi, but..." Makoto hugged her extra-tightly, "You're our best friend most of all. We will get through this."

Usagi tried to keep herself together, but couldn't help let out a few tears while her friends looked on.

* * *

It was the middle of the week when Ranma entered the gym, wearing a well-worn blue gi with 'NSSU Tae Kwon Do' embroidered on the back. She performed several leg and back stretches, since, not too dissimilar to Anything Goes, Tae Kwon Do utilized many kicks and some airborne maneuvers along with more traditional hand strikes, arm locks, and, rarely, weapon usage. She paid little mind to the other members of the team who kept their distance. Unlike them, Ranma never tried out for the team.

Instead she was brought in as a ringer the year before and had given the team a shot in the arm, enough to win the prefectural and national tournaments. Unfortunately, Ranma never developed the sort of rapport one gains by going through the same adversity together. Her coach and mentor, Coach Abe, said that if she had tried when she first got into school, she could probably make one of the two slots for the Olympics this year in Sydney. Ranma shrugged. At the time, she was more concerned in making sure she had enough money to make her way through school and to spend time with Akane. She had missed the chance to enter the various regional and national competitions needed to enter the Olympics this year. Frankly, even given the potential rewards (many of which Nabiki had enumerated) it just felt like too much trouble, especially when she was trying to figure out how to balance school, work, and life.

Ranma stopped her movement and bowed deeply when Coach Abe entered the room. He was a tall, almost as tall as Tatewaki was, and a very broad-shouldered man. His skinned was deeply tanned and his hair was cut military short, giving him a very imposing appearance enhanced by the clean, but long-used gi and black belt with five golden hash marks on one of the ends of it.

Upon seeing Ranma, he blinked and walked over. In a loud voice he said firmly, "What are you doing, Saotome? It's the Men's team practice today."

Ranma bowed, "Forgive me, sensei." She stood and looked up. "I got stuck like this yesterday."

"Stuck?"

"Remember when I told ya about my… 'problem'?" Ranma asked.

"Yes. All true martial artists' lives are fraught with peril…" he said sagely.

"Yeah, well... sometimes, I get stuck. Usually it's an enemy who wants to break my spirit or thinks I'm weaker as a woman, but this time, it just happened. I'm kinda at a loss at what to do for the moment."

Coach Abe nodded. "I see. Perilous indeed. Hmm..." Coach Abe thought, bringing his hand to his chin. "I can offer you a spot on the Women's team. It'll mean bumping Hasegawa, but you're too valuable to lose.

Ranma waved her hands. "I'd feel like a real heel benchin' somebody at the last minute, Coach. I can't do that!"

"But if you can't 'man up', Saotome, we can't use you," he said in a grave voice.

"But it don't affect my fightin'," Ranma argued, flexing a bicep. "I'll fight on the Men's team like this. I can kick their asses from here ta Seoul and back, even as a girl!"

Coach Abe shook his head and gave a pitying look at the redhead. "Look, Saotome. I like you and I know you've dealt with a lot of hardship in your life. Frankly, I'd give my left nut for an entire team of men like you, even with your condition. But I can't field you if you're stuck as a woman. Other teams won't take us seriously if it seems like we can't field a Men's team with…" he grimaced, "men."

Ranma, with all her strength, fought back the rage. Her mentor, the man she aspired to be, had effectively shut her out of the competition and maybe something more important. She swallowed slowly and took a few calming breaths.

"I get it, coach. I'll see if I can figure out how ta get back to the way I was, but until then, if it's for the good of the school, I understand."

The weathered man grunted in assent. "I'm real sorry about this. I'll keep in touch. You've done me enough favors the past year and half with the Judo, Kendo, and Tae Kwon Do teams. If you somehow get unstuck in the next month, let me know and I'll give the spot back to you immediately."

Ranma nodded. "'preciate it, Coach." She bowed once again. "If you'll excuse me."

Ranma left the gym and found a payphone. Reaching into her pockets, she dug out a hundred yen coin. She dialed the phone. After three rings, someone picked up the phone.

"Hello?" the voice asked.

"Hey, uh. Is Akane there?"

"No, this is her roommate. Akane is in class I think. Who may I ask is calling?"

"It's Ra-" Ranma paused. She realized that one she never showed up in Hachioji as a girl and two, Aki was a new roommate and had never met Ranma at all. She and Akane had meant to come up with a workaround, but life had gotten in the way and after the mess with her mother, Ranma had sworn off pseudonyms altogether as more trouble than they were worth. "I'll just call back later."

Ranma hung up the phone and slowly made her way back home.

* * *

It was early evening when Mousse finally came home. While it was a typical Tokyo summer - a hot, humid morass that was murder to his hair - it was all in all a very good day for the martial artist turned average citizen. He had gotten a very good score on his practice exam in juku. Some Americans he delivered pizza to gave him a tip which, not being groomed in the Japanese tradition of service industry ethics, he pocketed for his own use. Best of all, he received a gift from his girlfriend. He smiled at the thought of her long brown hair, her cheerful, pretty face, and her strength of character.

They met at a local juku just a few months ago in March. She was still in high school and he was effectively a ronin, having passed the National Exam that granted him high school equivalency the previous autumn. They had taken things slow at first since they were quite busy studying for university exams and working part-time (she worked nights at a bakery, he worked in pizza delivery and as a clerk in a convenience store). She was afraid of moving too fast, her first relationship having been emotionally painful. Naturally, he understood exactly what she meant and he agreed they needed to go slowly.

Still, they both found they had a lot in common. They both lived alone, so were independent and mature in a way many others of their age weren't. They liked to cook, though Mousse didn't have the space to do so regularly. They appreciated the value of an education, even if they were average students. They had similar tastes in movies: martial arts films and romances. They also had similar goals in life. She wanted to run a bakery and a florists' shop. Mousse wanted to start his own business using his knowledge of skills from working in the Nekohanten and Damino's. Most importantly, they both enjoyed Martial Arts, though she had professed she only saw it as a hobby. Mousse was glad. He didn't need to give his heart to someone who fought as a vocation. It hurt too much to know how much he lost himself chasing after Shampoo and her 'beat things up ask questions later' ethos.

Mousse stopped. He had a tendency to brood when the thought of Shampoo came up. Out of spite, it seemed, he had gotten a letter from Cologne via Kasumi. There wasn't much written, but instead, there were photos of Tarou and Shampoo's wedding celebration as well as an obviously pregnant Shampoo leaning against the arrogant bastard. Mousse had hoped to get some kind of karmic comeuppance, but Shampoo seemed positively ebullient and Tarou, beyond the bruises to his face almost certainly given by Cologne, seemed content. Contrary to expectation, Mousse's reaction had been relieved laughter. In retrospect, Mousse thought, that may have been the old ghoul's goal all along.

Mousse shook away the thoughts of the past and focused on the present. Or, more literally, the present he got from his girlfriend. A dozen cookies wrapped in a pink furoshiki cloth. Oatmeal raisin, his favorite. "Ranma might want some too. Haven't seen the bastard all week." Mousse stepped out of his apartment and walked next door. He saw the apartment door was unlocked and open slightly.

He knocked slowly on the door. "Yo, Saotome, you home?" He called out as he opened the door all the way. "Mako gave me some cookies and I thoug-oh jeez, what the fuck happened to you?"

Ranma was slumped on the floor, sitting on the floor, her head resting on her knees. An empty beer can lay next to her.

Ranma looked up. "Yo," she said in a weak voice. "Two things. One, I got locked again."

"Gods... I'm sorry, man."

"That ain't the worst part."

"What's worse than being locked?" Mousse shuddered at the memory of being locked himself on Mount Horai.

"You ever have every girl duck in Tokyo come after you askin' for a date?"

"Well, there was that one confused swan a while…" Mousse recalled before flushing in embarrassment. "Nevermind, I get it."

Suddenly, a tall, burly young man popped his head into the open door. He took a quick glance at Ranma, leering at her figure, before asking Mousse, "Hey Mousse. Who's the hot broad in Saotome's place?"

"Goddammit Ishigo, you know it's me," Ranma said.

"You finally decided to order in some Chinese, huh?" Ishigo said grinning, "I had a feelin' something was going on between you two."

Ranma rolled her eyes, though Mousse beat her to the response, "Look, Ranma's in trouble. He doesn't have time for jokes."

"What happened?" The nosy neighbor inquired.

Ranma shook her head. "Man… I'm tired of explainin' it. I explained it ta too many times already."

"Saotome's stuck like that for the foreseeable future, " Mousse supplied.

The apartment neighbor tried to comprehend the gravity of the situation at hand. "That sucks," he said. "So, does that mean you're available, Saotome, or does your girlfriend swing both ways?" he quipped.

Ishigo blinked and looked at the short redheaded girl who began to project her aura visibly, surrounding herself in a strange reddish glow.

"Hey Ishigo. Remember what I told ya the last time ya hit on me when I was a girl?" She gave Ishigo an evil-seeming grin as she smacked a fist against her open palm.

Ishigo gulped. Breathlessly, he replied, "Uh, um… 'That you'd break open the door to Apartment Five and turn my dick into-"

"Into hamburger, yes." Ranma nodded slowly. "Good memory."

Ishigo bowed deeply, "I'm just kidding. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please don't hit me there! I don't know what I'd do without it."

Ranma sat with a thump. "Okay, Ishigo. I forgive ya." She began to declare, "Just remember that I, Ranma Saotome, boy or girl, only like the ladies. And even then just one lady is special ta me."

"Because being chased by four women once in your life was enough?" Mousse asked.

"Well _that_ and 'cause Akane kicks like a mule," Ranma replied.

* * *

Rei, Makoto, and Minako stood outside the apartment with some amount of trepidation.

"Are you sure she's not just sleeping? Usagi seems to only want to sleep these days." Rei asked.

Makoto shook her head. "Rei! How can you say that about Usagi? She's... you haven't seen her the last few days. At least Luna and Artemis are watching over her. Ami though, she hasn't replied to any of our messages and Mina tried calling her, but nothing."

"Doesn't matter. We need to have a meeting about what happened to Usagi and the youma that attacked us on Sunday. It can't wait any longer. Not with Usagi like she is." Minako said, which prompted Makoto to nod sadly.

Rei knocked on the door. There was silence for about 10 seconds before the door slowly opened.

Ami Mizuno had seen better days. In some ways, she looked worse than after a night of battling criminals and youma. Her hair was tousled, the lack of proper brushing making it frizzy in the humidity of summer. Her eyes were bloodshot. She was dressed in pajama pants and a t-shirt and she smelled like she hadn't seen a shower in a while.

"Ami?" the three visitors asked.

Ami blinked and rubbed her red eyes. "Oh goodness, did I forget something? I'm sorry I'm having a rough week, Finals and all that." she looked behind her.

"Um…" Minako began. "We're sorry to bother you but…"

"We need to talk about Usagi," Rei said bluntly.

"And the youma that attacked us," Makoto added.

Ami stood frozen for a second, nodding slightly, as though the words were coming to her with a satellite delay. Finally she blinked, "Oh! Of course. Come in guys… I'm sorry the apartment is like this. My mother is understanding of the mess, thankfully."

Entering the apartment, they saw it was in something of a mess with textbooks and papers scattered on the carpet. It looked like everything was, at one point, neatly organized by subject and importance, but now it was a whirlwind of data. The kitchen seemed clean, though the trash was near overflowing with takeout boxes.

"I've been doing an analysis whenever I had a break from homework or exams. Unfortunately, that means it's cut into the time I normally use for personal errands like sleep and grooming."

"Tokyo University is a lot of work, huh?" Makoto asked.

Ami waved her hand. "It isn't so bad usually… the end of the semester is rather more difficult than I expected. College in general has been... an adjustment. I'm taking a diverse course load, so it feels like I have to shift gears too quickly and too often. Our new enemy is another stressor. I shudder to think how high my cortisol levels must be." She picked up the Mercury Computer from a table in the living room. Moving a stack of scratch paper aside she set it down and opened it

"I've been letting the computer run a script I coded earlier this week." She began typing a sequence into the computer "I unfortunately didn't record visual of what happened to Usagi, but I have ambient readings of energy." A visual graph the ebbed and flowed over time was displayed. "At some point, near eleven o'clock, there was a spike of Chaos energy, which somehow collided with Sailor Moon's Lunar Magic."

"You mean she was attacked?" Minako asked.

Ami shook her head, "No. At least not directly. If it was a direct attack, we would have noticed. It was more like Sailor Moon was engulfed by the energy spike and then both the Chaos and Lunar energy were gone."

"So the Chaos energy stripped her of her power?"

"I believe so, but it's only a hypothesis. I'd need more data to generate more sophisticated models in order to get a clearer picture." Ami said. Suddenly, she felt faint and slumped down on a chair.

"Ami?" Makoto asked, "How long have you've been at this? All of …this?" The tall girl gestured towards the whole of the living room.

Ami lolled her head to the side to read a clock on the wall which indicated the late afternoon hour. "Um... What day is today?"

"Friday," Rei replied.

"Then 57 hours and 23 minutes, give or take."

The three other girls' eyes widened. "Ami! That's enough." Minako exclaimed. "You're no good to us half-dead. When did you last eat?"

"Well I had tea with honey a few hours ago."

"When did you last eat _for real_?" Makoto asked.

"Thurs… day?" Ami said, somewhat bashfully.

"Okay, that settles it." Rei said. "Let's get you something to eat, okay?"

"But, my work-"

"Can wait!" Minako exclaimed. "Hey, why don't we try that burger place that just opened! Ami deserves some fries for all her trouble."

Makoto nodded. "Yeah." The tall girl helped Ami to her feet and the four of them left in search of fast food.

* * *

Inside a fluorescent lit, cheaply carpeted office, the two Gods of Misfortune Daikokuten and Yebisu stood behind a desk . In front of them were six humanoid youma. Their bodies misted over with dark energy, casting them in shadow save their blindingly white, sharp teeth. The largest of the six stood in the center.

"Do you understand the plan?" Yebisu asked.

"Yesss, my Lord Yebisu," a high-pitched hiss emanated from the tall youma, who led them.

"We need to amass control of human willpower in order to bring the Serenity out of hiding. When she arrives, destroy her."

"Yesss, my Lord Daikokuten."

"Well then. We expect a lot of... 'sales'. Steal their life energy, bring us the Serenity!"

The six youma saluted before changing their appearance to more human-like guises.

"Let's go. Order Up!" The lead youma yelled.

* * *

Ranma took a bite of her second oatmeal raisin cookie. "Thanks, man. Your girlfriend made them?" she asked, her mouth half-full. "You're a lucky dude."

"I thought Akane was getting better at cooking," Mousse asked.

Ranma snorted in laughter. "She is. I like her soup. But baking? Her cookies are like chewing on charcoal that tastes like old coins."

Mousse chuckled to himself before becoming serious. "So you have any idea how you got locked again?" he asked.

Ranma shook her head. "This ain't like the old ghoul or Herb or some other asshole came by and deliberately attacked me."

"So what happened?"

"I dunno. I was just helpin' Nabiki out with that stupid photoshoot. One moment I was stadin' around feelin' like a jackass in that Sailor Senja-er Senshi outfit. I was messing around with that wand-thing I showed ya." She pulled it out of her back pocket for emphasis. "Then it all went kinda blurry and I was glowing before I passed out again. When I woke up, I tried takin' a shower, but nothin'."

Mousse nodded. "You don't remember anything else?"

Ranma grimaced. "I…" She flopped back onto the bare tatami. "Man, I don't wanna talk about it anymore. Ya wanna play some Go?"

* * *

Minako and the others wandered to a shopping district just south of Azabu-Juuban. They stopped in front of a new restaurant, a blue banner announcing it's Grand Opening with the Words:

_NOS BURGER GRAND OPENING SALE: 50% OFF ALL MENU ITEMS_

"NOS Burger..." Ami read aloud slowly, perhaps a bit louder than she intended. "Interesting, if trademark infringing…"

"Well, it's cheap anyway," Rei added.

Inside, the restaurant seemed like most other fast food chains. To the back was the front counter, where people lined up to take orders. There were a series of tables and small booths. There were also stairs leading up to a mezzanine area with additional seating and a nice view of the street outside. Visually, the restaurant seemed to have a fairly large number of customers eating inside, though it was very quiet.

At the front counter, there were three employees. Two of the workers manned the registers. They appeared male and wore red polo shirts and matching visors, which covered their eyes when they looked down at the register. The third was behind them, taller and female in appearance. She wore a visor along with a microphone headset. They seemed oddly intimidating, even for urban fast-food employees. Their expressions were somewhere between jaded and outright hostile. There was a cacophony of sounds in the back kitchen, but whoever was back there wasn't visible.

"Can we eat upstairs?" Minako asked. The other girls quickly nodded and they found a small corner table upstairs, out of sight of the front counter. Ami slumped down onto a table, resting her head on folded arms. After the others put their things down, Makoto paused.

"Something doesn't feel right here…" she whispered.

Rei and Minako looked around. Ami let out a light snore.

"It's… it's too quiet," Makoto said.

"Look!" Rei pointed to a couple who had passed out on top of their shared basket of fries.

Minako peeked down at the register. She saw one of the counter workers smile. His teeth looked like razor-sharp fangs. She said, her voice becoming firm, "Okay, I think we have a problem."

* * *

The windows were opened and the drone of cicadas echoed loudly in the apartmentg as Ranma and Mousse sat on the tatami floor, a Go board and two bowls of white and black stones between them. Mousse took a sip from a small bottle of milk tea as he set down his fifteenth black tile.

"Ha. I have sente now, Ranma. Have fun with your gote."

Ranma sighed. "Damn. My head ain't in the game today I-" Ranma paused and looked up, suddenly altered. "Somethin' don't feel right..."

"You okay, Saotome?" Mousse asked, looking around the small room.

Ranma grabbed her temples in pain. There was an echo in her head of raspy laughter and a feeling of coldness. For just a moment, she felt faint and broke out in a cold sweat. She closed her eyes tight and shook her head. "No... something's happening..." She stuck a hand out and moved it about until it pointed northeast. "Whatever it is, it's that way! Come on, Mousse!"

Mousse pointed to himself. "Me? But-"

Ranma looked up at him, her body already in a combat stance and her hands balled into fists. "No buts! I don't know what it is, but it's bad and you're the only other martial artist here. Come on!"

Ranma ran towards her already open window and jumped out of it. She landed on the roof of the adjacent building and running afterwards.

"Hurry up!" she yelled.

"Dammit, I need my robe!" Mousse yelled out the window before running to his room.

* * *

Mousse landed just behind Ranma, next to a new restaurant. "NOS Burger?" He thought to himself. Mousse was dressed in his Amazon combat robes, supplemented by a pair of silver sport goggles, which wrapped around his eyes tightly.

"Glad to see you finally made it," Ranma quipped.

"You dick. I had to get my robe _and _take out my contacts because my eyes were starting to hurt." Mousse looked at the place in front of them once more. Doesn't look like anything is-"

Suddenly the glass doors of the entrance blew off in a shower of shards. Two civilians ran out into the street, screaming in terror.

"Holy shit!" Mousse said.

"I knew somethin' was going down. Come on, we gotta stop it!" Ranma yelled.

"Stop it?"

"What?" Ranma smirked as she looked up at the Hidden Weapons Master. She began dancing on her toes. "You ain't afraid of a little Nekohanten shuffle, are ya, duck boy? It'll be like old times."

Mousse raised his hands in a defensive stance. "I'm a bit rusty on that specific number, but I'm ready."

The two ran in to survey the mess. Chairs had been overturned and many customers had passed out on tables and in booths.

At the front register, still clad in red shirts, black trousers and red visors, the three youma were channeling energy from the unconscious customers.

"Gods..." Mousse muttered.

"I'm gettin' pretty hungry. Ain't you, Mousse?" Ranma said between gritted teeth. "Let's do this."

* * *

Upstairs, the four Senshi, still in their civilian identities had decided to act, even without Usagi present. Before they could transform, they saw a red-haired young woman run into the restaurant, trailed by a man in white robes and loose black hair.

"Hey, assholes!" Ranma screamed as she took a battle stance.

"What do you want, human?" The lead youma asked. It looked vaguely female, tall with a skinny build and long "hair" of dark energy put up into a ponytail. It had that a nametag that only read: Shift Manager.

Ranma waved to the unconscious patrons. "These poor bastards were just tryin' ta get a quick bite to eat! Sure they were prob'ly killin' themselves with saturated fat and refined sugars, but it filled a void in their empty, miserable lives. And you took that away from them. I can't forgive anybody who fucks with people's food!" As soon as Ranma finished the speech, she blinked.

"What the hell was that?" Mousse asked as an aside.

Ranma shook her head. "I dunno. It's like my mouth got away from me. I never want to do that again."

"Well, you got their attention at least," Mousse said. The youma began to fire blasts of energy. When he ducked, he called out, "Congratulations, you pissed off three demons."

"What can I say? I'm a people person," Ranma retorted as she backflipped high in the air, avoiding the attack. She turned in mid-air and threw her hands in front of her.

"Mouko Takabisha!" she cried out as a large ball of energy shot out of her hands.

* * *

Above the restaurant Minako whispered frantically to the others, "What the hell is she!"

Ami, pulled out the Mercury Computer and began typing frantically. "That was a huge spike in… life energy? No way. How could anyone weaponize it, without a medium with which to process it, like Beryl and the Shitennou?" she looked up and said frantically to the group, "I'll keep monitoring it."

Meanwhile Makoto was left speechless as she witnessed the two humans bob and weave around the youma's blasts of energy, while returning attacks of their own. The girl relied on bursts of bluish-white energy and aerial kicks, while the boy threw out hundreds of pounds of swords, knives, chains, maces, baseball bats, and, at one point, a white training potty.

"No way…" she whispered.

"What's wrong Mako-chan?" Rei asked.

"Can you sense it?" Makoto asked. "That looks like martial artist ki, Rei. My boyfriend's been teaching me to channel my ki, but… they're on a level I thought was impossible for regular people."

Rei blinked. She turned and looked at the girl closely, really looked. The redhead exclaimed "Kijin Raishuu Dan!" and Rei could see a buildup of… something around her hands, leaving and space of emptiness that, like a blade, cut through the front counter.

"Oh gods." Rei uttered in shock.

"Whatever it is, we've left them alone too long. Let's get to it," Minako said with a distinct finality as she pulled out her transformation wand.

"Venus Crystal Power, Make Up!"

The others followed suit.

"Mercury Crystal Power, Make Up!"  
"Mars Crystal Power, Make Up!"  
"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!"

* * *

Ranma had been in fights that, in retrospect, were best classified as 'ridiculous wastes of time'. However, she was beginning to think her first major battle in Juuban against otherworldy creatures may set a new low. Granted, fighting in a restaurant was hardly new. Fighting in locations where food and drink were served was practically her specialty. Still, she didn't suspect a pitched battle at NOS Burger would be so deadly, even without eating the food.

It was novel to fight seemingly evil denizens of some eldritch world bent on taking over the world. Seeing the human-looking employees turn into demonic entities was actually pretty damn cool. That the youma had been disguised as fast-food employees, however, undercut that coolness greatly. Ranma almost pitied them. That is, until she dodged the 15th frozen beef patties thrown like a discus and the third wave of scalding hot, shuriken-like French fries. By that point the novelty had worn off and become full-fledged annoyance.

"I'm gonna need to speak to your manager, ugly!"

"I am the manager," the youma standing behind the two cashiers hurling food items growled.

"Well I'm gonna hafta complain to the owner when I'm done with you!" Ranma replied.

"Enough talk!" The monster gathered a mass of dark energy. "Order up! Bakudan Nuggets!"

A wave of formed, breaded, and fried chicken (made with all white meat) flew, bullet-like, from the kitchen and assaulted Ranma in the head, exploding with burning hot oil. The force of the blasts and the meaty shrapnel of said ordinance knocked her nearly senseless on the floor. She lifted her head up slowly, lolling from side to side.

"Can we get a salad next time, duck boy?"

Mousse brushed a stray piece of chicken from his robes. "I'll stay in next time. I'm wiped. Those damn things are draining my chi like crazy. Aren't they doing the same to you?"

Ranma shook her head. "I'm feelin 'it a little, but I think I'm okay."

"Well get up close. I'm going to need to keep my distance," Mousse implored.

"Order Up! Baconator Strike!"

From a chain made of lettuce, A large, mace-like hamburger, spiked with rashers of spiky bacon, slammed into Mousse, hitting hit on his side. He slowly stood, feeling nauseous and enervated by the grease and liquid cheese.

"Dammit, I hate cheese," he muttered before jumping back, avoiding a barrage of French fries that embedded themselves into the tile floor like shuriken.

"Do you want fries with that!" the monster hissed.

Mousse pulled out a set of knives. "I think I'm done with fried foods for a while!" He threw them out at the youma. One knife caught its shirt sleeve, trapping him against the counter. Throwing out a large mace attached to a chain, he scored a direct hit against the monster's skull.

"Guess I'm not hungry after all," he quipped.

Ranma meanwhile was dodging strikes from the second youma, who kept throwing razor sharp onion rings and even more exploding chicken nuggets at the red-haired martial artist.

"Set me up, duck boy!" Ranma cried out.

"Got it!" Mousse jumped high into the air of the restaurant, almost hitting his head on the high ceiling of the upper seating area.

"Mìjì Yīngzhuǎ Quán! Hawk's Talon!" Mousse cried out before diving and a youma, sharp emerging front the front of his shoes.

The youma ducked down as Ranma yelled, "Shish-kebab Attack!" and threw a leg up into the monster's torso.

"The customer is always right," Ranma quipped.

Ranma was surprised as her foot went through the creature, it's body slowly forming into dust. Ranma jumped back and shook her leg.

"You okay, man?" Ranma asked.

The Hidden Weapons Master took a knee and shook his head. "No. They're crazy strong. I feel myself getting tired just being too close. How are you not affected?" He wondered aloud as he looked up.

Suddenly, the lead youma slowly began to come to. Ranma took up a defensive stance when Mousse pointed back towards the kitchen. "There's four more where that one came from."

"Damn, we can't do it alone. Ucchan and 'natsu are too far away and the rest of the old gang are gods' only know where..."

As they tried to figure out a plan, a chorus of voices echoed behind them from upstairs.

"In the name of the Inner Planets, we will stop you!" A chorus of voices shouted. The two comparatively mundane martial artists looked back to see four women, each in similar outfits in blue, green, red, and orange. They stood on the railing of the mezzanine dining level.

The one in orange took the lead. "Food is supposed to nourish people, not weaken them!"

"Well... I mean it _is_ a fast-food place," the senshi in red said.

"It's not the healthiest thing to eat, if you think about it," the green-clad one added.

"To be fair, "The one in blue interjected, "it's as much about frequency as anything else. Fast food every now and again isn't bad for you. And there are the emotional and social benefits to consider..."

The one in orange turned back and hissed, "I know I'm not Sailor Moon and that girl down there already gave a speech, but could you not undercut your leader in public!" She turned to look at the assembled demons who were pouring out the back to replace the fallen cashiers.

"In the name of Venus, the planet of Love and Justice, Sailor Venus and the other Senshi will punish you!"

The youma looked at each other.

"Order Up! Combo Meal Deal!" the lead youma screamed. The combined demons began flinging exploding hamburgers and chi-enhanced fried foods once more. The four senshi began flailing about wildly, dodging the weaponized fried food with some level of adroitmess, but unable to do much else.

Ranma blinked at the spectacle. "Wow..." was Mousse's only reply.

"I gotta do somethin'. I'm almost embarrassed for them_._" Ranma jumped back into the fray.

"Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken Revised: Parlay du Foie Gras Strike!" She began to effortlessly pluck the literally fast food from their intended targets and into the mouths of the lead youma herself.

"Okay, if you girls got anythin' up your sleeves, now'd be a good time ta use it!" Ranma eked out, "trying not to lose her concentration.

Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Mars looked to each other and nodded.

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

"Burning Mandala!"

Ranma and Mousse were awed by the display of raw magic. That is, until their restaurant experience reminded them that fire and electricity were being hurled at a place with open burners and hot grease

"Oh shit!" they cried out far too late. The back of the restaurant exploded in flames, the backdraft flinging the swinging kitchen doors open.

Ranma yelled, "Put it out! Put it out! Get a Fire Extinguisher and-"

Mercury, addled by lack of sleep and the assault of grease to her senses, had an idea. "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!"

"What!? No!" Ranma and Mousse screamed out.

Sailor Mercury blinked, realizing her mistake, but it was too late. The torrent of water and ice blew into the kitchen. It look liked the fire was nearly out when a large chunk of ice that had formed in the air fell into the large vat of hot frying oil.

Almost instantly, the kitchen and, now, the dining area in front exploded in flames.

Ranma yelled, "Dammit! Get the civilians outta here!"

Ranma, Mousse, and the Sailor Senshi began hurriedly carrying the unconscious patrons out of the restaurant. Ranma herself struggled with a rather large gentleman who was easily four times her size, her arms just barely large enough to drag him outside by his forearm.

"Dammit. This guy a ex-sumo wrestler or somethin'?" she grunted as she carried him out.

Finally, after everyone human was accounted for. Ranma wiped the sweat from her brow only to be confronted by the four women.

"Okay. Who the hell are you?" The one in orange asked Ranma, looking down at the slightly smaller woman.

"Uh, I'm..." Ranma gulped. She was saved by the bell, or rather the siren, as the tell-tale wail of the Tokyo Police and Fire Departments became audible in the distance.

"Damn, the cops!" Ranma exclaimed. She turned back to Mousse, "We're outta here, duck boy!"

Mousse nodded. "Right." The two of them quickly turned away and jumped.

"Wait!" The Senshi cried out, to no avail. They looked blankly at the redhead and the black haired boy who seemingly flew up towards the roof of a low building towards the south.

"Damn it!" Mars exclaimed. "Get back here!"

While it was an impressive leap by normal human standards, by the time the Senshi made it to the roof where the strange red-haired girl and her bespectacled companion had gotten to, there was no sign of either of them.

Venus shook her head. "Damn. Any sign of them, Mecury?"

Mercury shook her head, "No… the area is too noisy with energy after… Darn it! I can't believe I was so stupid!" she scolded herself.

"Don't beat yourself up over it. The people are safe and that's what matters in the end," Venus assured Mercury. "Let's get out of here and regroup later."

As the Senshi departed back towards safety, Jupiter whispered to herself.

"Muu-Muu?"

* * *

Inside the Takarabune, high above the skies of Tokyo. The dark, wizened lord raised his hand. In a flash of smoke and light, Daikokuten and Yebisu reappeared.

"The Serenity did not show," he uttered.

"Please forgive us, Lord. We thought our youma would draw her out."

"Her minions came as did those two… _humans_," he choked out.

"We're sorry Lord. There's no excuse for such failure. We will the locate the man and-"

"The male is of little concern!" the lord boomed. "The woman however… find her."

"Yes, my Lord."

"Do not fail me again Yebisu. Daikokuten."

"Yes, my Lord…" the two Gods of Misfortune nodded and disappeared.

"I will bring you out, Serenity..."

* * *

Ranma flopped down on the floor of her apartment, the action disrupting the stones of the forgotten game of Go. Mousse had left for the public bath to shower off the frying medium and wash the melted cheese from his hair. Looking up at the ceiling, she was processing the fight..

"Those were the Sailor Senshi, huh? Looked like a bunch of high-schoolers. Doubt any of 'em could take me in a fight… not that I wanna fight 'em," she muttered to herself. As green as they seemed to be tactically, they had good teamwork and combat discipline. They also seemed well-meaning, if somehow... off. Their appearance began the sense of buzzing Ranma had felt that night at Nabiki's and earlier in the evening to reappear, as though the back of her brain was itching.

Ranma let out a groan and pounded a fist into the tatami floor of her apartment, knocking the Go stones out of their containers. "Man, this sucks," she groaned. "Wish 'kane was-"

The phone rang. Ranma sat up and picked it up.

"'llo?" she asked.

"Ranma?"

"Akane?" she asked, her voice more desperate than she intended.

"There you are!" She said, her voice exasperated, but relieved. "I've been trying to get a hold of you all day! I know finals are pretty crazy for both of us, but I wanted to know how you were holding up. Are you okay?"

"I dunno..." Ranma admitted, "Nabiki told ya I got locked, right?"

"Yeah, she did. I talked to her earlier. Ranma I," she paused and recovered her composure, "I know this is tough for you, but I have faith you'll get through this, okay?" Akane tried to sound enthusiastic, but the tiredness in her voice was evident.

"Yeah. Thanks, 'kane. I 'preciate it," she said in a noncommittal fashion.

"How's everything else?" Akane asked.

Ranma weighed the question. "I guess things are all right. Work's okay… I-" She paused. "I kinda got benched from Tae Kwon Do team. They really only need me for the men's team and seein' that…" Ranma trailed off.

"I'm sorry Ranma. I really wish I could visit right now, but school and-"

"Can I tell ya somethin'?" Ranma asked.

"What is it?"

"I'm scared, tomboy." Ranma thought to herself. She tried to force those words out, but couldn't She prided herself for not just breaking down on the phone. She didn't want to worry her girlfriend any more than she already was.

"Nothin'. You're right. Just another day in the life of Ranma Saotome, huh?" she forced a laugh.

"Yeah."

"I'll beat this, tomboy. Just you watch me," she said, summoning her usual bravado.

"Ranma…" Akane said, unsure how to react to the more obvious than usual attempt by her currently female boyfriend.

"Hey, uh. I should hit the hay. Long day tomorrow and all."

"As soon as I finish what I need to do here, I want to see you," Akane said.

"Yeah, that'd be good." Ranma felt her chest tighten. "I can't wait. I, uh, I miss ya lots." Ranma felt an awkward pause. "Well... night, 'kane."

"Goodight Ranma. Take care of yourself," Akane replied before hanging up the phone.

Ranma stood and cleaned the apartment before rolling out her futon and lied down. She tried to sleep, but after an hour, the heat and her unease she sat up. She put on her motorcyle gear, though opting for an open-face helmet instead of her regular black full-face one. She tightened the belt of her pants and the strap under her helmet extra tight and got on her motorcycle.

As she drove down the mostly quiet streets of southeast Tokyo, she would gaze up at the sky. Cutting through the clouds and light pollution, Ranma could see the waning moon in her vision. The night sky was a comforting presence, from the time she was a small child. However the moon seemed to loom large over her, as though it was bearing down on her, simultaneously judging her and calling out to her.

With a loud rev of her engine she sped down highway 6 north and Away from Tokyo. Before she even realized it, she had made it out to Lake Teganuma in Chiba Prefecture. She found a mostly isolated patch of grass on the Western side of the lake, set her bike on its kickstand and walked out to the edge of the water, sitting in a field of reeds and tall grasses. She could faintly hear crickets and see fireflies in the distance.

She sat staring at the water, seeing the moon's light reflected in the still water. She pulled out the wand and held it in a gloved hand, staring at it, trying desperately to divine any significance from its presence. She couldn't help but notice the jewel at the base of the crescent moon seem to reflect the silvery light brightly. The light felt so alien, not of this world and yet so familiar, like she was being held tightly. It took great effort not to be drawn into it and Ranma, in her fatigue didn't fight as hard as she could have. She felt enveloped by the light and, in her mind she felt an unfamiliar comfort. It was at once a tight embrace, yet open enough that if she wanted to go, it was okay. It was like a childhood she never had, a lover's embrace that was unlike the dynamic she had with Akane. It was warm, though not a human warmth. More like the Sun had heated it and, in the light of the moon, the ebbing heat was like a blanket.

Before Ranma even realized it, the sun began to appear behind the reeds and the electrical towers, knocking her out of her trance. After some time to regain her bearings, Ranma finally stood and headed back to Tokyo.

"What the hell have I gotten myself into now?" she thought to herself. She never noticed the lone fisherman on the other side of the lake.

* * *

AN:

All right. Here we go. The plot is afoot. Next chapter will probably be a bit short since it's more setup for the big confrontation between Ranma, the Senshi, and our named villains. No timetable as of yet, though.

First of all, I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this little story of mine. I've gotten feedback from author's whose work I greatly admire and it definitely sets the bar rather high for me. I hope I won't disappoint too badly XD.

As always, thanks to frice2000, khammel, and others at fukufics for tightening plot elements and characters up. Special thanks to my writing bff Unsurpassed Travesty who is the sweetest friend an anxious old fangirl like me can have.

Aside from my own work, please Check out _Prodigal Daughter_ and _Creatures of Habit, _two stories I've co-written with Unsurpassed Travesty which are in various states of progress.

The first draft of Chapter Three is nearing completion. Next Time: Mamoru checks in, Ranma runs into an old frenemy, Usagi meets a kindred spirit, Makoto and Mousse reenact the plot of _Mr. and Mrs. Smith_, and the Gods of Misfortune track their prey.


	4. Chapter 3 - Interplay

Mid-July was a hot and humid affair in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Even in the encroaching darkness of twilight, just after the sun set out towards Allston and points west, the city stewed in damp, wet heat. Mamoru Chiba sat in his bare Somerville apartment bedroom, his back rested against the wall of his bedroom. Aside from two open suitcases and his futon, there were only a small bag for toiletries and a half-eaten small pizza from Bertucci's.

He looked down at his small black cell phone. He'd been a bit hesitant to get a phone in the first place, but he had been silly enough to leave his old phone back in Japan, thinking somehow that the US didn't have GSM phones. After kicking himself for his mistake, Mamoru was still unsure how useful it would actually be to have a cell phone. It turned out to be his lifeline, not only to the Japanese students he had met in his time at Harvard, but with the help of phone cards he bought from the market stalls inside the T stations he could call his best friend and the woman he loved back home.

Not that the Boston-based people weren't fun to hang out with, but they had never moved past "good acquaintances". Part of it was that most of the Americans, especially at Harvard, were a bit too egotistical and self-aggrandizing for his taste. But even the Japanese students he had come across had been distant from him, even if they relied on him for understanding the at times tortuous Boston accent.

Taking stock of his year abroad, Mamoru decided that it had been an eye-opening experience, living in a city like Boston as well as seeing the other cities on the east coast he got to visit. But he never clicked with the other people around him, Japanese or American, and while he'd miss his time abroad, he was happy to come home to his...

Girlfriend? Fiancée? He missed Usagi deeply, but the idea that they would be... He felt the weight of Endymion's armor on his shoulders and found himself lacking somehow. He would come home, they would marry, Chibi-Usa would come and after a time, they would be the rulers of a Utopian paradise? Not that Usagi didn't deserve some happiness after all they had gone through. He didn't even object to it in the abstract. He just...

Mamoru shook his head.

"What time is it?" He asked himself, wiping his brow. Glancing down at the phone, he saw it was about 8 PM.

"Nine in the morning… I should call her," he thought to himself. He reached for his wallet and pulled out a small paper card. Dialing the byzantine set of numbers he finally called Usagi's home number.

"Hello?" a familiar voice answered.

"Usako?" Mamoru asked.

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi replied, almost breathless.

"Is everything okay Usako?"

Usagi sighed. "I'm... I really miss you."

Mamoru nodded to the empty room. "I'll be home soon. I finally sold the last piece of furniture and I sent my stuff home. How are you?"

"I'm... I'm okay" Usagi lied.

"Just okay?" Mamoru prodded

There was a hesitation as the static on the less than stable line crackled. "Look, there's so much to- I can't really talk about it over the phone, but I can't wait to see you."

Mamoru nodded. "Same here, Usako. I've missed you so much. Just a little longer." Mamoru sighed, unable to hold his breath in. Their conversations were usually focused on what they had been doing, but trying to explain his studies, or the myriad oddities of Boston and Cambridge as well as the Americans who called the place home was too much to really get into over the phone. He was usually happy enough to hear her talk about herself and how she was doing.

"I can't wait to see you Mamo-chan." Usagi said, with a small laugh she said, "After you get back, I want to go spend some alone time with you!"

"Oh, did you want to go to Dinseyland again?"

"I was thinking someplace more romantic..." Usagi's voice got very soft and giggly as she finished, "where we don't need clothes."

Mamoru began to stammer a response "Y-yeah! I'd like th-that. I mean, uh, we can get some dinner and see a movie and-"

Suddenly a voice outside of Mamoru's door called out. "Hey! Sonny Chiba! Come on! Weah goin' ta Bukowski's!" A loud male voice said in accented English.

Mamoru looked up from the phone and replied In the same tongue. "Give me a second. I'm talking to my girlfriend."

"Yes 'Ma'am'!" The voice teased.

"And don't call me 'Ma'am', Donnie!" Mamoru muttered under his breath, "stupid Irish..."

"What did you just say?" Usagi asked.

Switching back to Japanese, Mamoru joked "Slacking off on your English, huh dumpling head?"

He could just imagine her face scrunched up in annoyance as she made an annoyed sound over the line. "Mou... don't be such a meanie, Mamo-chan!"

Mamoru chuckled and nodded even though he was alone in his room. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Usako. I gotta go. My roommates are giving me a 'farewell party'. It's just an excuse for them to get drunk, but I may as well join them."

"Okay." The voice became more cheerful. "Have fun, Mamo-chan! You better not miss your flight!"

"_You_ stay out of trouble." he cautioned.

Usagi went quiet. She finally replied, "Yeah. I'll try."

"I love you. Good bye." Mamoru hung up the phone. He went quiet for a moment thinking about Usagi's mood over the phone.

"Come on, tough guy. Gonna be a wicked pissa time!" Donnie O'Malley called out.

"I'm coming Donnie!" Mamoru yelled through his door as he grabbed his wallet and turned out the lights as he headed out.

* * *

Pinch Hitter

Chapter 3: Interplay

* * *

Ranma woke up late that morning. She quietly thanked herself for getting time off to study for finals. However, given recent events, she wasn't in any condition to make use of her study time. She felt cagey and anxious. The fight from the previous night had rattled her. Not because of the nature of the enemies or the raw power dealt by the four women who called themselves the Senshi. It was the gnawing sensation she had that led her there. It was like a buzzing in her head, a guiding voice that needed no words to convey what it wanted. It was too metaphysical for Ranma to contemplate. At least the fantastical, magical, and demonic beings that had plagued her life in Nerima had concrete forms and shapes and names to go along with them. It broke the normal laws of physics and of common sense, but there was a logic to it. Even if it was a twisted logic, built specifically to make her life difficult.

This new force she found herself at the cusp of was different. It was hazy, as though it was purposely remaining intangible. It felt almost like breathing country air, but somehow more invigorating. Even compared to yesterday, she could feel the force well up inside, threatening to overpower her. It was like being given a seventh sense, like suddenly being able to sense the weight of people's words or finding out that people's emotions had a flavor.

Still tired, but too keyed up to sleep more than the few hours she got after getting back, Ranma left her apartment and walked over two rooms to Apartment Six and knocked on the door.

The door slowly opened and Mousse peeked his head out and looked down, squinting his bleary eyes.

"Ranma?" he asked, rubbing his face.

"Heya Mousse. How ya feelin'?"

"Could be better. I washed my hair three times last night and I still smell like yellow cheese." He raised a lock of his long black hair. "I got split ends like crazy."

"Ah, sorry 'bout draggin ya there," Ranma said, somewhat quietly. "Ya did good, though. You kicked some butt and I appreciate it."

Mousse nodded, "No problem, man." He blinked a few seconds and said, in a quiet whisper. "Look, I know you have some stuff going on, and those monsters last night have something to do with it, but... I can't do that anymore, Ranma. I mean, what would Makoto say?"

Ranma tilted her head in confusion. Mousse sighed and pointed at Ranma.

"Look, you're with a martial artist. A girl like Akane gets that you're gonna get into fights and deal with craziness." He began to show a dreamy look in his eyes.

"But my Mako-chan is such a sweet girl." Mousse tone changed became more matter of factly as he considered it, "I mean she can defend herself, of course. Like one time she beat the crap out of two yakuza that tried to rob her." Mousse looked up, thoughtful, "And another time she accidentally broke the strength tester at the arcade."

Ranma quirked her eyebrows as Mousse continued, "And there was that she showed me she knocked down a wall and redecorated her apartment all by herself so she'd have a more open kitchen."

Mousse turned back to Ranma and concluded in a sure voice, "but she isn't one of us."

"I... guess not," Ranma replied in a flat tone of voice.

Mousse nodded. "How do you think she's gonna react if I tell her 'Hi honey, I fought three inky black hellspawn who knocked me upside the head with a bacon cheeseburger. How was your day?' "

Ranma slowly nodded. "Yeah, fair enough. I guess?" Ranma said. "Not like I wanted ta get involved, either," she thought darkly. Ranma shuffled her feet. "Anyhow, uh, ya wanna go spar at Rinshinomori Park later?"

Mousse shook his head. "Sorry, can't. I have a date with Mako later. First time in weeks we've been able to meet outside of juku." He sighed, "I'm gonna go back to the public bath and take another shower before then. Later, Ranma."

Ranma froze momentarily, before nodding and giving Mousse a confident smirk. "Have fun, Peking Duck."

Mousse gave a wave and closed his apartment. Ranma's smile instantly fell and she trudged back to her apartment, Number Four. She picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello? Yes?" the voice asked in a clipped tone of voice.

"Hey Nabs. You free ta talk later? Somethin' came up yesterday," Ranma asked.

"Sorry, I have a business lunch with a professor and some contacts of his at Bank of America. He thinks I can do my externship there when I move to Philadelphia next year."

Ranma nodded blankly. "Oh. Yeah." She moved her phone away from her head and huffed a bit. "See ya later, then. Good luck, Nabs."

"Give me a call later, little brother."

Ranma let out a snort. "Feelin' pretty little, but definitely not a brother."

"I bet," Nabiki remarked with a small laugh. "Look, I know you like to play the macho idiot. Frankly, it might be one of your better points. But seriously, how are you holding up?"

Ranma laid back on the floor. "Dunno. I stopped some kinda demon attack last night. It was weird cause I just knew it was happenin'. Aside from that, if I don't get any real lead on this, I'm gonna go stir-crazy."

"Well, you know we have your back. Just don't get hurt. My baby sister's fond of you for some reason" She chuckled a bit, then paused. "Shit, I gotta get going. I have to review my dossier on the guy so I can field questions."

"All right. Later 'Biki."

Ranma hung up the phone. She looked at the time. Late morning. Still, she risked it and picked up the phone once again, dialing a well-worn number.

"Ranma?"

"Hey Akane. I know it's kinda late in the day for ya, but..."

"No-no, I'm just about ready to head out to teach at Mr. Yamada's dojo."

"How are the kids?" Ranma asked.

Akane let out a laugh. "Nuts. It's glorified babysitting, but the pay is pretty good and the children are so cute."

"Yeah... wish I could find a dojo ta teach 'round here, but..." Ranma clicked her teeth. "damn Pops." Ranma recalled the rude awakening she got when she learned that a child of Genma Saotome and the heir to Grandmaster Happousai was persona non grata in the normal martial arts world.

"It's okay. I know you'll be a good sensei when we get the dojo going," Akane said.

Ranma grimaced. "Ya really think so?"

"Of course I do, Ranma!" Akane replied. "_You_ taught me a lot. After you got your head out of your butt, " she giggled.

"Yeah, well I was just worried n' all. I'd have started teachin' ya even before that crap with Saffron if it wasn't for all of that engagement stuff. 'sides. You could've been a little nicer ta me, ya know," Ranma said, feigning hurt.

"I know, just like you could have been more of a gentleman." She laughed a bit. "It's history, Ranma." Akane's voice became hurried. "Look, I have to run or I'm going to be late."

"Oh, okay. Later 'kane."

"Call me later tonight, okay dummy?" Akane teased.

"Yeah. 'Course I will." Ranma replied. "Have fun teachin'."

"You have some fun too for once, okay?" Akane almost hung up, but she spoke again, in a soft whisper, "Ranma…"

"Yeah?"

"…I love you."

Ranma felt her knees go slack as she replied, "I l-love you too, 'kane." There was a small smile on her face as she hung up.

She thought of Akane in her Yamada Dojo dougi and the way it flattered her figure more than the old yellow one ever did, especially from the back. Akane had grown into her figure the last year of high school. Akane, unlike her sisters, was now more pear-shaped than anything, but it seemed to suit her strength-heavy form of combat. Ranma had to admit, Akane's butt looked incredible in a pair of tight jeans. "Second only ta me," she reminded herself, though the thought gave her little joy at the moment, her ego trumped for once by circumstance.

Ranma left her apartment and headed over to Rinshinomori Park. It was a fairly large expanse of greenery for Tokyo, containing both open fields and barbecue pits for families, but also full of pastoral nature, with dozens of trees and two ssmall lakes connected by a stream. Ranma began some stretches and, after a while, began working through the series of Anything Goes kata. After about twenty minutes she took up to the trees and began practicing her aerial techniques while bounding through the small urban forest. She found herself yearning to go on a training trip out in the wildnerness.

Ranma had mostly kept up her fighting shape sparring with Mousse, though sometimes she had to drag him out to do so. Furthermore, having to limit her fighting to specific arts for University tournaments had given her a major hankering to go all out. It was an itch that wasn't getting scracthed.

In that light, getting locked, then getting involved in the fight at NOS Burger had been a wake-up call that her life hadn't settled down as much as she thought. The grating thing for Ranma was that fighting in itself was fun, even given her current state. Ranma had long ago admitted to herself that she lived to overcome challenges to be the best. That thing that always ate at her though was the chaos and unpredictability of it all. Three years of it had driven Ranma to exhaustion and brought out the worst aspects of his personality. That sort of chaos was the one thing she hoped to never have to be caught up in again after the shenanigans of high school in Furinkan. Ranma felt the signs, however, as sure as a cat being shipped to the Tendo Dojo or a small piglet wandering in from parts unknown.

"I'd bet my last yen that last night wasn't the last of it." She thought.

Ranma clicked her teeth and she landed on the ground after a series of airborne kicks and punches, "Man. I really wish there was somebody around I can go all out with. Akane's okay, but she's too far away. Mousse is sharp as ever, but he lost his fightin' edge. Ukyou and Konatsu are too far away. If we ever spar again, I might just kill Pops. And Ryouga..." she shook her head as her kata led her through a series of blocks and dodges. "Yeah, that ain't a good idea. Better he stay on the farm."

Ranma performed some cooldown stretches and spent a few minutes admiring the view and the way the sky was reflected on the surface of the water. She also spied a figure in the middle of the small lake. It looked like a middle aged man in old-fashioned clothing who was presently readying to cast a line from a fishing pole.

Ranma tilted her head, "Never seen anybody fishin' on that lake before," She thought to herself before heading back to her apartment. As soon she left his sight, the middle-aged man vanished.

* * *

Usagi sat quietly on her bed after the call with Mamoru.

"Sounds like he's having fun," Usagi muttered to herself as she laid back down on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Usagi was about to get up to use the bathroom when there was a sudden scratching on her window. Sitting up, she saw her old friend pawing at the window. She let Luna in and sat back on her bed.

"Oh good, you're awake," Luna said as she jumped onto Usagi's lap.

Usagi nodded and smiled. "Yep. Mamo-chan called."

"When will the Prince be back?"

"Tomorrow night, Luna. I'm going to meet him at the airport." When she saw Luna clear her throat, she asked, "What's up?"

Luna, far from her usual stiff demeanor, seemed almost nervous. "There was an incident last night. We just had an emergency meeting to discuss our options."

Usagi's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"The incident last night was something of a freak occurrence. We decided it was better if we confirmed we weren't being followed before notifying you."

"Being followed?" Usagi asked, her tone becoming more serious.

"Let's start from what happened last night, Usagi..." Luna gave Usagi a brief version of the events of last night, in particular the interruption by a young woman and a man.

Finishing up, Luna said, "We're keeping up an alert if they show up again. We can't be sure if they're really on our side or not."

"But, they helped us, right?" Usagi asked.

"Ami said they were able to utilize offensively a large amount of life energy without a medium." Luna offered. "The woman, especially, seemed to just teem with it. Also she didn't seem to be nearly as affected by the youma's chaos energy as her partner."

Usagi looked puzzled, both by the information she was given and Luna's concern.

"Okay, let's keep our eyes open for anything else suspicious. Do we have any leads on the youma?"

"Well..." Luna trailed off.

"What?" Usagi asked, her voice becoming more pointed.

"It seems your senshi got a bit... overzealous. The youma were attacking from a fast food place and... they burned it down completely."

"What!?" Usagi yelled, then quickly covered her mouth when she realized she was quite loud.

Luna raised a paw. "I know, I know! I already yelled at them for that." The black mau sighed, "They and the two interlopers rescued the civilians so no one was hurt and the building itself is structurally sound, even if the storefront is ruined."

Usagi nodded, relieved. "Thank you, Luna. I'm sorry I can't be more help at a time like this."

Luna reached up and patted Usagi's lap. "Ami is working some more on what happened that night. She said she'll have more time after next week."

Usagi smiled.

"Anyway..." Luna looked around. "The thing is Usagi... I was thinking of-"

Usagi smiled and stroked Luna's head softly. "Go ahead, Luna. If I need anything, I'll call you on the communicator, okay?"

Luna nodded, "Thank you. Artemis says hello, by the way."

The blonde girl let out a giggle. "Tell him I say hi, too."

Luna bounded back outside. Usagi shut the windows and let out a sigh. There was a feeling of happiness for her companion and advisor, but also a sense of loneliness. She tried to keep herself occupied by calling her other friends. However, it seemed life was leading everyone away towards other exploits.

"Sorry Usagi-chan," the high, sweet voice of Naru said over the line, somewhat exasperated, "Umino n' I are watching his Mobile Suit Gundam DVDs on his new player."

"Usagi?" an uncharacteristically tired voice of Ami Mizuno said over the speakerphone. "What time is… Oh goodness! I have to go meet my study partner so we can go over an assignment before our final exam! You understand, right?"

"Aww, sorry Usagi!" Makoto said, the sound of running water in the background "I' getting ready to go to the park with Mousse for a picnic. We can hang out next weekend for sure!"

"Hmm..." Rei sounded contemplative. "Unfortunately, Grandpa is being even more annoying than usual about making sure that the O-bon festival planning is going well. I'm probably stuck at the temple all day."

Usagi had lost all hope when the cheery voice of Minako Aino picked up the phone. "Sure, I'd love to-ow! Jeez Artemis!" Minako's voice was distant and Usagi couldn't hear everything said as Minako began talking to someone else. "No, I was just gonna… yeah, I know i got a 37 on the last exam, but… No, I don't want to take the makeup test, but… fine!"

Usagi heard a sigh as Minako returned to the call. "Sorry Usagi. I should probably study for exams today."

"Oh." Usagi paused. "Yeah, did that last night while you guys were…" she stopped speaking.

"I see. Did you get the full debrief from Luna?"Minako asked. "I'm sorry we didn't call you last night. It just sort of happened and by the time we got back we figured you were asleep."

"She mentioned that part. Is Artemis working on who our new friends are?"

"Lemme ask." There was a silence. "Yeah. He said they'll be at the command center later if we need to talk to them."

Usagi nodded. "Okay. Good luck on your studying."

Minako sighed, "Thanks Usagi-chan. I'll call you later, okay?"

Usagi said her goodbyes and hung up the phone, sighed, and flopped back on her bed. "I miss Mamo-chan."

This left Usagi with one real option besides staying in at home and sulking: food. She decided instead of the Crown, she'd try the new restaurant nearby. She laughed to herself at how new restaurateurs always panicked at how much a "growing girl" like herself could put away when motivated. Given the events of the past two weeks, she was quite motivated indeed.

* * *

Ranma should have been at home studying for finals. She had gotten the time off at work a month ago just to have the opportunity to review her class notes. Unfortunately, recent events, particularly the fight last night, had made it impossible to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time before she'd start brooding again. She spent the morning lost in thought at her present situation. Over the past week or so, she had been able to put it out of her mind with work, classes, and the new weirdness that had entered her life. After two hours of blankly staring at lecture notes, Ranma decided a walk would suit her.

Ranma shuffled her feet as she walked down past the neighborhoods near her apartment. She came upon a pebble on the sidewalk and for about a kilometer, she made a game of kicking the pebble down the street, seeing how far and fast she could get it to go without deviating from its path or getting airborne. Ranma's little game ended she she kicked the pebble against someone's expensive looking Italian loafers.

"Oh sorry, I-" she froze as she saw who the man in front of her was.

"Ranma?" he asked.

"Ryouga..." she muttered darkly.

After the Amazons and the Kunou clan, Ryouga had been the biggest question mark in Ranma's life. Last she knew, the pig boy had ended up tied at the hip to Akari Unryuu and was living in some farm far away from Tokyo and Ranma's life. It was just as well, for more than a few reasons, as far Ranma was concerned. There wasn't bad blood per se, but Ryouga simply left after the failed wedding and never came back. Thankfully, Mousse had filled the void in Ranma's friendship that Ryouga's departure had created: a close friend who could fight near his level. There was an additional bonus in that, once Shampoo left the picture, Mousse was an overall nice guy to pal around with in a way that always stressed her out when around Ryouga. She had snapped at Nabiki for it, but Ryouga brought up things she did not need to think about, at least not until the moment it proved inescapable

Ranma looked once again at her once-rival. Ryouga looked pretty similar in terms of build, hair, and complexion. It was clear he still kept in fighting shape. His clothes, however, seemed radically different. Gone were his patchy and rough traveling clothes. He wore a cotton button-up shirt and slacks that were tailored to fit his broad physique rather well. His shoes were a dark leather and expensive-looking. Instead of his large backpack, he carried a messenger bag over his shoulder. Overall, he looked like he had been cleaned up by someone with Kuno's money, but with actual taste and the end result was mild irritation on Ranma's part.

Before she could turn around to leave, she felt his presence.

"Hello Ranma," he said cooly.

Ranma cursed the timing of it all. Why did she have to go out for a walk? She could have had a pity party at home, but no, she had to let her feet wander while she gathered her thoughts.

"P-chan," she said brusquely.

"Heh. Predictable as always."

Ranma felt a growing discomfort. "What's with the preppy getup?" she asked.

The condescension was palpable in Ryouga's voice. "Um... they're my clothes."

Ranma found the idea of Ryouga shopping for casual clothes at the mall difficult to take. Particularly since they seemed to suit him well.

"Well they look... stupid," Ranma spat out, "What are you even doing here? This ain't Nerima."

Ryouga shook his head and pretended to pat Ranma's head. "I know that. I'm meeting a study partner from my Discrete Math class nearby," he said. Ryouga began to smile his trademark fang-toothed grin, though, to Ranma, it was approaching Mikado Sanzenin-levels of smarm. She shuffled her feet, somewhere between taking a battle stance and edging away.

"Study? What, you in juku now?" Ranma asked. "Mousse is trying for schools next year, too."

Ryouga looked down at Ranma, giving the currently female martial artist a half-lidded stare. "I go to Todai, Ranma. Mechanical Engineering," he added off the cuff.

Ranma froze in place, stunned. "Huh? You!?" She excitedly pointed at the bandanna-clad rival. "But you're not smart!"

Ryouga shrugged. "I just test well."

"So you're meetin' a study partner. For a math class. Who also goes to Todai," Ranma confirmed, letting the idea settle.

Ryouga nodded. "We're gonna go over the last problem set and the final." He smiled.

"How, but, I mean..."

Ryougs sighed. "Look, I was off at... doing my thing for a while. One day I end up back in Nerima for a bit ran into Kasumi. The next day, this black sedan came to where I was camped and it took me to my parents house. My mom gave me this," Ryouga said as he held up a small device that looked like a large, squat cell phone. "It's a Global Positioning System. I can never get lost as long as I have it with me. My folks got one a while back when they started being available. With this, Mom was able to get her job back at Chuo University and Dad's made a killing on tech stocks. My life's turned around."

Ryouga's expression, to Ranma's surprise, changed from that disarming smile to a bit of a frown. "I've worked my ass off to catch up for all that time I lost and to make them proud. That means trying to be the best student as I can be."

Ryouga snorted, puffing up his chest. "Don't get me wrong, Saotome. I'm in school, but I'm a martial artist first. I can still go toe to toe with you any day of the week, ya know?" He rolled his eyes and shook his head, laughing casually. "I heard from Nabiki you're not engaged ta Akane anymore."

"It ain't how it sounds! I'm still her boyfriend!" Ranma snapped back.

"Ain't much of a boyfriend at the moment from what I heard... or can see, _little girl,_" he added with a boisterous laugh. Suddenly, Ryouga's eyes quirked as he looked Ranma over, smiling to her dismay. "Why are you a girl anyway? Hasn't rained in a while. Someone around here go crazy with the uchimizu, like in Furinkan?" Ryouga joked.

Ranma's head slumped. With a grimace, she admitted, "What's it to ya? You tryin' ta laugh at me some more!? Like I the shit ain't startin ta pile up higher n' me? I know I ain't that tall as a girl, but shit man-"

Ryouga's demeanor changed from this projected antagonism to a more earnest smile as he raised his hands in defeat. "Woah, woah woah! Look, I... Ranma, I was just messin around and showin' off a bit. I thought you wouldn't mind a little ribbing. Like the old times."

"Yeah, well I ain't in the mood for it, P-chan."

Ryouga voice took a quiet, concerned tone. "Dude, you okay?"

At that moment Ranma had the urge to spit in Ryouga's face and walk away. She also had the urge to kick his ass and send him home to mommy with his clothes messed up. She looked him in the eyes and her mouth twitched.

"It happened again. I'm stuck."

Ryouga took a step back and folded his arms, taking a moment to gather his composure. "Wow. That sucks. I still remember I got hit with the Locking Ladle and I thought I'd be the pig forever. Was it him?"

"Herb?" Ranma shook her head. "Nah. I dunno what happened. It's uh, too confusin'." Ranma waved a hand, "Look, I don't need your pity or nothin'. I'm fine otherwise. And you seem ta be doin' well for yourself."

"There ya go again, Ranma. I'm your friend, right?" Ryouga moved to put a reassuring hand on Ranma's shoulder, but as soon as he touched Ranma, she turned around and slapped his arm away, yelling "Don't touch me!" in a voice that spoke of as much fear as annoyance.

Ryouga held his hand up. "Sorry, sorry. I was just trying to-"

"Well I don't need it! I was doin' just fine before-" Ranma stopped herself from speaking but was shaking in anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Ever since I ran into you and Akane in Okinawa you've-" Ryoga shook his head. "Whatever. I'm sorry." Ryouga cleatred his throat. "Anyway, uh, what's the old gang been up to?"

Ranma took a few breaths and said, "Well.. I live not too far from here. Mousse n' I are neighbors and you know Nabiki lives around here, too if you been talkin' ta her. Ucchan and Konatsu are back in Furinkan and Akane lives out in Hachioji."

"That's not too far. You get a chance to see her a lot?" Ryouga asked in a hopeful voice.

Ranma eased up, letting her arms relax as she shook her head. "When we get a chance yeah, but with school and our jobs... it's rough, ya know?"

Ryouga nodded, "Yeah..." he sighed plaintively. "Distance is a killer. Does she know about..." he pointed at Ranma.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah."

There was dead silence as the topic seemed to fizzle. Ryouga checked his device and looked around. Seeing no one, he spoke haltingly, saying," Well... Maybe I can stop by some time and you and Mousse and I can do a guys' night out?" Ryouga asked hopefully.

"Well, I, uh..."

"Oh, damn, I'm sorry," Ryouga said, hitting his forehead, "Look, I know you're going through some stuff and we had our share of back and forth, but... we're pals, right?"

Ranma merely nodded and said, "Yeah. 'Course. Pig boy."

"Asshole," Ryouga replied with a smirk. "Okay, lemme get your info. We can head to the bar, have a coupla drinks and have some fun with the gang."

Ranma nodded blankly. As she gave Ryouga the details, a woman's voice could be heard in the distance.

"Hibiki-san!"

Ryouga looked up and smiled politely as the girl jogged up to him.

"Oh, Mizuno-san. Good to see you. I was about to call to see if you were okay."

Ami walked over and bowed to Ryouga. "I'm sorry for running late. I overslept and something came up so..." she trailed off when she saw Ranma. Ranma noticed the look she was getting from the blue-haired stranger. In response, she began making tactical calculations in case something went down. At the same time, however, Ranma felt what could only be described as alarm bells going off in her head. There was something about this normal blue-haired girl that struck Ranma, but she couldn't put it into words.

"Oh, who is this Hibiki-san? Your girlfriend?" Ami asked tentatively, looking between the two of them.

Ranma's internal machinations froze as her entire body choked in utter horror at the idea suggested by Ami. Let out a strained cough and found it hard to breathe. Ryouga for his part looked put off, though with fewer theatrics.

Shaking his head, Ryoga explained, "He-uh she's an old friend of mine. Ranma and I go way back." He walked towards Ami and turned back to Ranma. "Ain't that right, girl."

"Yep," Ranma said noncommittally, stealing a glance at Ami. "Too far back, ya pig bastard."

Ryouga merely laughed at the insult, replying with "That's the old Ranma!" and slapping her heartly on the back with perhaps a bit more force than necessary. He turned to Ami, "Anyway, we just happened to run into each other by chance." He turned to Ranma and said, "This is my study partner, Ami Mizuno. We're taking the same math class this semester. She's a real whiz."

Ami shook her head, pointedly forcing herself not to scrutinize Ranma as she spoke, "Oh, don't say that Hibiki-san. You're rather clever at applying the concepts once you get a handle on them. "

Ryouga visibly blushed, then nodded shakily. "T-thank you, Mizuno-san." He then stopped and glanced at his device. "Oh, it's close to twelve-thirty. A-are you ready to begin, Mizuno-san? I can get you some barely tea if you'd like."

Ami shook her head quickly and blinked. "Oh. Oh, yes! Yes of course. Thank you, I appreciate the gesture, Hibiki-san."

As Ryouga turned to leave, Ami following behind, he casually raised a hand in farewell.

"Later Ranma! Say hi to Akane for me."

Once they left, Ranma let out an annoyed sigh as she kept walking aimlessly down the neighborhood.

She was troubled by what she saw between Ryouga and the strange questioning girl. She noted Ryouga's slipping composure, his hands shaking some, and the redness on his face. Behind the fancy clothes and the seemingly matured demeanor was the infatuated Ryouga she remembered. "Oh." Ranma mouthed, feeling even more confused than before.

* * *

Makoto Kino was changing into her outfit for her date. It was the third time this morning she had done so. She chided herself for being so flustered about a date, even after being together for six months.

She met Mousse last summer, a few months after she and the rest of the Senshi had returned from the Cauldron. She wasn't what to make of him at first, since he didn't act like the other boys in juku. Mousse was the first boy who eyed her for a martial artist, asking her out of the blue after juku what style she practiced. She was flustered as he said that she carried herself like a fighter and that he thought it was "pretty cool". He was still a bit flustered the first few times he had talked to her afterwards, but he stuck to safe topics like help with Classical Japanese and practice exams. By the time autumn rolled around, they had taken to meeting after juku, first at a nearby family restaurant, then at her apartment. It was near Christmas when Mousse had formally asked her out on a date. That night they kissed and became a couple.

Even so, things had gone slowly, both very busy with classes and work. She found out he worked a lot to support himself, not having a source of funds like she had. Their dates ended up either being dinner dates at her apartment where they would cook together or out in the park where he would practice and teach her martial arts. Their most extravagant date was not too long ago to see _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_, which, to her surprise, they both teared up over.

Given the events of last night, however, Makoto grew uneasy. It took her everything she had not to say anything at the debriefing. That man with the red-haired girl could have been him, but she didn't get a good look. The whole thing made her realize that, as much as they've talked about school, exams, and martial arts, she knew very little about Mousse's past beyond the fact he once lived in Furinkan in Nerima Ward and had worked in a restaurant until a year ago which is why he never went to high school. He knew martial arts, but he never threw large numbers of knives, bombs, or chains like that when they practiced together. He was always so gentle and sweet and not like the deadly fighter she saw at the NOS Burger.

Makoto put that aside and tried to focus on the present. She had spent a few hours after the fight cooking two bento boxes for the picnic before going to bed. After the early morning debrief at the Hikawa Shrine, she rushed back to shower and dress for their date, hence the current dilemma.

Makoto felt the shorts, tights, and midriff t-shirt was too casual, the black sleeveless dress was far too dressy. She finally decided on a light peach sundress, matching rose earrings, and straw-colored wedge sandals. She was still unused to heeled shoes, always self-conscious about the extra height they gave her, especially around men. Mousse, however, never seemed to mind. The fact was, as long as she didn't wear obscenely high stilettos, she was still roughly at eye level with him. It was almost strange that something like that meant a lot to Makoto, but she loved that someone could make her feel... like a girl. It had been what ultimately sunk last relationship. Not with her senpai of old but...

"Well, we're still good friends despite it all," Makoto muttered to herself.

The doorbell rang and Makoto was knocked out of her reverie.

Opening the door, she saw Mousse standing there. Makoto couldn't hold back a goofy smile upon seeing her boyfriend. He wore a new black t-shirt and jeans. His long black hair was tied up and his green eyes were deep and inviting as always, though he seemed to be fidgeting. In his left hand was a bouquet of roses, yellow with red at the tips of the petals. In his right was a plastic bag that held a small tupperware container.

"Muu-Muu!" She exclaimed.

"H-hey, Mako-chan." He smiled and raised his hands one at a time.

She brought her arms around Mousse and hugged him deeply. Makoto rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in deeply.

Makoto blinked as she pulled back. "Is that... cheese?" she said, not realizing she had said it aloud.

Mousse gulped. "Uh... I had a pizza fall on me at work," he quickly supplied. "I can't get the smell off."

Makoto led Mousse inside as he continued. "I brought some stuff you might like," he said. "I don't have an oven in my place, but I thought it was hot anyway, so I made Dòuhuā."

Makoto smiled as she took the flowers and the container from him. "Oh, how thoughtful Muu-Muu! I haven't had cold tofu in a long time. Come in and we can have it with tea."

Makoto set the bag down on her counter and went to the sink with the roses. She cut the rose stems shorter and placed them in a small glass vase. She smiled at the color. She looked up and saw Mousse sitting at her living room table. She saw his fingers quickly rapping on the table's surface as he struggled not to look uncomfortable.

"Are you okay, Mousse?" she asked.

"Uh, I'm fine Mako-chan. Just a bit tired." Mousse went quiet for a moment, looking at Makoto with a gentle smile and bright, green eyes. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, sweetie. You look very handsome yourself," Makoto replied as she re-entered her living room. She set the flowers down at her small table, where Mousse sat. He had opened the container, revealing the sweet cold tofu in a ginger and jasmine scented syrup. He brought two spoons as well. Makoto left and came back with two mugs of tea. She sat down next to Mousse, leaning against him slightly.

"I missed you, Muu-Muu," she said softly.

Mouse felt his cheeks redden."Same here, Mako-chan. Work's been a little crazy."

"I thought you had last night off, sweetie?"

"I was." Mousse paused. "I ,uh, was playing Go with a friend," he said. "Then we went out for dinner." He looked up and laughed sheepishly. "I guess I was more tired than I thought cause I pretty much passed out afterwards. Sorry for not calling you. What were you up to?" He asked her as he grabbed his tea.

It was Makoto's turn to flinch. "Okay. I was out late with the girls, you know how that is..." she tried to steer the conversation back. "So this friend of yours... is she a girl?" She said with a nervous chuckle.

Mousse practically doubled over in a mixture of laughter and disgust at the thought of of him and Ranma. "No way!" he said aloud before catching himself. "I mean. Sorry, just imagining him..." He shook his head quickly. "Ranma's as manly as they come, Mako-chan." Mousse added silently, "He'd probably kill you for suggesting otherwise."

Mako nodded blankly. She looked at Mousse again, imagining him in different clothes, his hair down, and wearing glasses. Mousse, noticing the staredown, turned to face Makoto. He began to turn beet red as she edged closer to him until their noses touched. She stared into his eyes intently.

"Tell me something." She held her breath, trying hard not to just give in to his large green eyes. "Are you wearing contacts?"

Mousse jerked his head back and began making a stuttering sound, "K-k-kinda. Y-yeah."

"Do you wear glasses as well?" she asked.

"S-s-sometimes. The doctor said I can't wear 'em more than twelve hours at a time or my eyes'll hurt more. I don't like it cause..." he recovered a bit and shook his head, "they never worked for me."

Makoto nodded. "Do you ever wear your hair down?"

"Uh, sometimes," he replied, "but usually I just keep it up, especially in this weather."

"Not many men have hair as long as yours, Muu-Muu," she observed.

"I've always had hair this long, Mako," he said.

"I didn't know Chinese men had long hair."

"Um... where I'm from in China, they usually do," he winced, adding "If they aren't b-bald or something."

Makoto nodded. She took a sip of her tea. Mousse took it as a cue to do the same. She sampled the dòuhuā and smiled.

"It's really good. Not too sweet and the ginger is refreshing."

"Really? I'm glad. I used to make it a lot when I worked at the restaurant, but it's been a while."

Makoto nodded. "I noticed you never talk about the restaurant. That was back when you lived in... Nerima Ward right?"

Mousse nodded. "I wasn't at my best then."

They both finished their small bowl of cold sweet tofu and Makoto sat up.

"Mousse. I have a small favor to ask of you."

Mousse looked At Makoto. She brown hair flowed down to her collarbone and she looked stunning, if cute in her dress. His heart beat just a step faster.

"S-sure, Mako."

"I still want to go to the park, but can I get a rain check on the picnic?"

Mousse tilted his head. "I don't understand, but okay."

"Thank you Muu-Muu for indulging a lady," she teased. Mousse nodded blankly.

Makoto grabbed Mousse's hand, leading him to the door. She looked at the wedge sandals she had longed to wear on this date and shook her head slightly, She instead slipped on a pair of jade green ballet flats. Before Makoto opened the door, she turned back to her boyfriend and pulled him closer to her by the collar of his shirt until their noses touched.

"Fight me, Mousse. And don't you dare hold back."

"W-what?" Mousse jerked his head back, looking straight at Makoto, suddenly seeing the very Amazon-like fire in her eyes.

"I need to know who you really are, Mousse," she uttered darkly. "And I need to show you who I am." she refrained internally.

* * *

Ranma, in an even fouler mood than before, made a plan. It wasn't a grand, purposeful plan like a direct way to cure this current locked state. It wasn't even a moderately ambitious plan like figuring out why that Mizuno-san had given her such a pointed look and why she looked so damn familiar. It was a simple plan, easily executable and one that promised an immediate result.

She completed phase one when she entered Hiro's All-you-can-eat Buffet restaurant.

Phase Two involved being seated at a small table and ordering a green tea.

Phase Three, the most crucial phase, involved stalking the rows of steam tables, piling food on her plates. She started nibbling on a skewer of yakitori to tide her over a she calculated the physics of food stacking. In her focus and determination to finish, she bumped into someone.

"Oh, jeez. I'm sorry," Ranma said, taking a glance at the person in front of her. She was a girl about her age, maybe a little younger, but the same small height. What Ranma found particularly compelling about the blonde odango-atama in front of her was her penetrating cerulean eyes. Like Ranma, she had two plates, laden with food, in her hands. Also like Ranma, she had a bamboo skewer of meat dangling from her mouth.

"Oh, no," Usagi shook her head, "I wasn't looking where I was going either. I got distracted by the shrimp tempura. They just refilled the tray with fresh stack." She looked away in awe for a moment, before returning back to earth. "It's rare to see a girl by herself in a place like this," she said to Ranma

Keeping her internal groan in check, Ranma just chuckled. "Yeah well, when bad things happen ta me, I wanna eat."

"Really?" Usagi's eyes lit up as she replied, "Me too!" Ranma couldn't help but smile.

"I'm Ranma Saotome, by the way," she said, bowing somewhat awkwardly, given the plates of food.

The blonde haired girl followed suit, almost dropping her plate of fried food. "Usagi Tsukino."

"Say Usagi, ya find the real good stuff yet?" Ranma asked in a conspiratorial voice, putting a hand over her mouth in an aside.

Usagi adopted a similar demeanor and body language. "The tempura is fresh out of the fryer. The ikayaki looks good and they're serving Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki today."

"Thanks," Ranma said. "Mind if I sit with you and compare notes?"

Usagi couldn't help but think the red-haired girl in front of her had an expression similar to the first time she met Ami, Rei, and Makoto. There was an openness to her eyes and, even though she seemed to hold herself confidently, even arrogantly, Usagi wondered if she wanted for someone to talk to.

"Of course," she said, her mouth half-full of yakisoba.

* * *

At the Fruits Parlor Crown, Ryouga and Ami sat at a booth, a small sheaf of scrap paper and a textbook to their side.

"So the main difference between Utility Theory and Game Theory is that..." he trailed off when he realized Ami was looking past him rather than at him. Ironically enough, while they were going over notes on Decision Theory, Utility Theory, Social Choice Theory, and Game Theory, they were individually wondering how to bring up the topic in their mind to the other. Ryouga, for his part, found his palms growing sweaty and having trouble focusing.

Internally, Ryouga chastised himself, "you're a new man now, Hibiki. This isn't going to be like what happened with Akane. Mizuno-san is smart, cute, and really really nice. Just be a man and ask her out!"

For her part Ami was having trouble looking at Ryouga, "How does he know that girl? Is he with her? It doesn't seem like it, but was he the man in disguise with her? He's been nothing but courteous, but I can't let that blind me. I don't see any micro-gestures that would suggest any kind of deceit though..."

"Mizu-" he began.

"Hibi-" she said at the same time. They both paused.

"Uh, go ahead," Ryouga said.

Ami nodded. "Thanks. I hope this isn't too awkward of me to inquire about, but can you tell me more about your friend? The girl we saw earlier."

Ryouga blinked. "Girl? Who, Ranma?" Inwardly, he sighed. "Does she still think Ranma is my ex?" he thought to himself, instinctively frowning.

"Yes. She seemed... familiar, somehow. Is she a student?"

If Ryouga had been drinking, he would have done a spit take. "At Todai?" He shook his head. "Ranma goes to... some jock school, I think. He's martial artist through and through."

'Who is?"

"Ranma," Ryouga replied matter of factly.

"Why did you say 'he'?"

"Huh?" Ryouga nodded suddenly. "Oh, oh!" Ryouga had to refrain from laughing. "I, uh, meant 'she'. It's just that... Ranma's like one of the guys, ya know?" Ryouga smiled internally at his inner joke.

"So she's a martial artist, like you are? Can martial artists..." Ami stopped to consider her words. "Are martial artists known for harnessing large amounts of life energy to shoot at opponents?"

Ryouga stopped his train of thought. "Wait, Ranma was in a fight? Was it the Amazons again?"

Ami nodded. "Excuse me?"

Ryouga waved a hand. "Uh, nevermind."

Ami blinked before recovering her composure. "I was witness to such an event recently. Frankly, it rather frightened me."

Ryouga nodded. He even found it a touch cute. "Well, yeah Mizuno-san. Only a few people can actually throw ki like that. Maybe..." he thought about it for a moment, counting in his hand, "half a dozen folks in Tokyo can do that. More folks can infuse weapons and stuff with ki. That's not too hard."

Ami tried hard not to appear completely floored by the revelation, or the casual way in which her study partner had revealed such information. Did he even realize that what he said goes against most of understood science? Or had he somehow found a way to reconcile the contradiction through cognitive dissonance? Ami responded the only way she felt she could.

"I see."

Ryouga, continued. "I mean, you have to study and practice fighting for a really really _really _long time and have teachers who know what they're doing before you can even start thinking about playing with ki." Ryouga remembered the specifically painful way in which he learned the Bakusai Tenketsu.

Ami nodded slowly before continued her inquiry. "Hibiki-san, can you perform such a maneuver?"

Ryouga eyed Ami warily. Why was this cute, but brainy girl interested in martial arts? No, not 'martial arts'. It wasn't like she was thinking about signing up for a self-defense class. She was asking about a very elite level of martial arts Ryouga figured was on the order of a thousand beings on the planet, give or take, could even do. Even given that she saw Ranma show off, her curiousity was enough for Ryouga to slowly revise his assessment of Ami Mizuno. Ryouga thought maybe he should be worried for her safety, but he saw a confidence in her that was deeper than the pride in her impressive intelligence and high marks. Ryouga began to wonder about Ami beyond the initial infatuation and respect. He came to a decision.

"Do you trust me, Mizuno-san?"

Ami slowly nodded. Ryouga let out a breath. He put his papers away.

"Okay, let's take a break from this. Can I buy you a coffee?" he asked, hoping to salvage the moment.

Ten minutes later, Ryouga and Ami walked outside of the Fruits Parlor Crown. Ryouga turned to Ami when they reached the sidewalk.

Despite himself, Ryouga's face reddened a shade. "M-Mizuno-san, I h-hope this isn't too forward, but we should probably not be on the street. May I escort you to the roof?" He pointed upwards.

"The roof?" Ami asked looking at the building in question and its six stories of height.

Ryouga nodded. "If you want to know what you seem to want to know, that's the first step.

Ami flinched slightly. She felt a sense of dread, as though she was being led into a trap. Yet she saw an earnest, vulnerable look on Ryouga's face which eased her fear. She almost regretted bringing the question up, but this was her best chance to get somewhere where computer modeling of energy levels had failed her. She thought she would have a high probability of making it up there in her senshi form, but as it was, it seemed impossible for any human to do the same. Or rather it had until yesterday.

Ami nodded, "All right, Hibiki-san. You may... escort me."

Ryouga walked up to Ami and, in a sweep of his arms, scooped up Ami.

Before Ami could squeak in surprise, Ryouga coiled his legs and leapt high in the air, easily clearing the first two stories of the building the Crown was located in. He stepped lightly on the restaurant's red awning and shot up the next three stories to the top of the building in question. He gently set Ami down and took a few steps back.

"There's a lot I should explain about people like Ranma and I..."

He began thinking about the time he wandered alone. The emptiness he felt about his life before college. It was harder to pull himself in the right mindset these days, but Ryouga still had an edge, rich boy aspirations aside. He thought of Akane and Ranma together. He thought of what had happened in Okinawa and back at the Unryuu farm. It wasn't the biggest blast of energy he ever pulled off, but it was suitable for his purposes.

"Shi Shi Hokodan!" He cried out, releasing a large ball of sickly green-colored ki into the air.

Ami fell back and looked up in wonder as the energy arced over the sky.

* * *

Two hours later, Hiro, the proprietor of the eponymous restaurant was near tears. Given its place in central Tokyo and its unique take on the dining experience, Hiro's All-You-Can-Eat seemed to be a success. Now it looked more like how would be swimming in red after the two young women had finished off their plates, with satisfied burps.

They had seem so innocuous, the redhead and the blonde. Both petite and thin (the redhead more so than the blonde), he had assumed they'd eat maybe a tenth of the 2000 yen buffet price. The redhead alone devastated the pasta bar and the only deserts not eaten by the blonde were the one's snatched by the redhead before she could sink her teeth into them (well there was the gelatin desserts to consider, but lets face facts, nobody eats the gelatin desserts). To Hiro's relief, their feeding frenzy had subsided, and now the two were talking over tea.

Now that she was sated, Usagi eyed her new companion. Ranma did the same, though she hid it behind quick glances behind her teacup.

"So you're in college" Usagi asked. When Ranma nodded she continued. "What's it like?"

Ranma scratched her head. "I dunno. It just is. I like what I'm learnin', but sometimes it just feels like I'm goin' just ta go. It's a lot of work sometimes and I don't have as much time to do the things I want to do. But I like the freedom, I like feeling like I have control over my life" Ranma said. Struggling somewhat near the end as the knowledge of his current predicament came to mind.

Usagi herself seemed to consider Ranma's words. "I've been thinking a lot about college. Everyone expects me to go and I've trying really really hard to study for entrance exams, but..."

Ranma attempted to finish her sentence. "You got no idea why you should go, especially if ya never been the best student in class?

Usagi didn't say no. Instead she laughed a bit."When I was in middle school, I once said that I couldn't decide if eating or sleeping was my best subject. The funny thing is sometimes, I still feel that way."

Ranma chuckled, "I always preferred eatin' myself, but I learned sleepin' was better for my health."

"Well, my friend Ami says it's not good to overeat all the time," Usagi said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, that's important too, I guess," Ranma replied, thinking more about the direct threats to her health that came from eating free food back then, which ranged from strange potions in the ramen, disgusting okonomiyaki sauce, to the skin-crawlingly unappetizing fare from Akane back then.

Usagi smiled. "So, do you have a boyfriend?"

Ranma choked on her tea. "No, but it's, uh... complicated."

"Do you have a girlfriend, then?" Usagi smiled when Ranma, after a moment's consideration, nodded.

"Hope that ain't uh, too weird or nothin'," Ranma added.

Usagi shook her head and smiled. "Nope! I have two friends that are together." Usagi put a hand to her chin, "And another friend has a crush on a girl, now that I think about it." She turned back to Ranma. "Is your girlfriend nice?"

"Nice?" Ranma echoed. "Akane's herself. I mean yeah, when she wants to, she's real nice, but I think I like her best when she's a little bit mad at me, if that makes sense," she chuckled. "She goes ta school out in Hachioji, so I don't get ta see her a lot right now. Between classes and work, neither of us got much time to just be together, ya know? I mean, we got holidays, but usually we're working then or we gotta spend time with our parents, ya know?"

Usagi nodded. "Mamo-chan's been in America the past year."

"He your boyfriend?" Ranma asked.

"Yep." She reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. She showed Ranma a photo of them from a while back. "He's coming back soon, but I've really missed him."

Ranma examined the man who stood next to Usagi in the photo. Aside from the fact he looked a little older than her he seemed normal enough, even though he could probably stand to dress less dorky. Looking more closely at the face, slowly became disarming for Ranma, so she looked at something else.

"Who's the kid?" Ranma said, pointing at the pink-haired girl in the photo in front of Usagi and Mamoru.

"Oh, that's... a cousin of mine. She stayed with me for a while. She's..." Usagi thought for a bit. "She's a good kid. When she isn't being a brat."

Ranma nodded. "Wouldn't know. I'm an only child. I never really spent much time with little kids."

Ranma returned the photo to Usagi and the two sat in silence for a while. She looked at Usagi again. There was something to her Ranma couldn't point her finger on. It felt a little too similar to the buzzing sensation she had been feeling, but somehow this time, if was more comforting than disconcerting. Looking at her eyes, at least indirectly, Ranma had a good idea what it could be.

"Um... Ranma? Is everything okay?" Usagi asked, a little weirded out by Ranma's expression.

"Yeah, uh... Ya wanna go do somethin'?" Ranma then suddenlt raised her arms, "I-I don't mean nothin' by it. I got a girlfriend and all that, but... I don't got any plans and ya looked a bit lonely, if ya ask me."

Usagi tilted her head. "Well... I guess I didn't have much planned, too. Do you have anything in mind?"

Ranma shook her head. "Unless ya like ta do martial arts, not really. You can take the lead."

Usagi thought for the moment. She noted the way Ranma held herself, her hands covering her chest or wait if she wasn't drinking from a cup. It was subtle, hidden among the grand gestures and casual speech, but Usagi seemed to think she found what she was looking for. She also noted Ranma's clothes were clean, but very worn.

Usagi stood up suddenly and grabbed Ranma's arm. "Hey, I haven't been shopping in ages. Let's go!"

Ranma swallowed. "Shopping? Uh, yeah. Okay."

Usagi laughed softly at Ranma's hesitant response. She pulled a surprised Ranma up from her chair. "H-hey! Watch it, Blondie!" Ranma called out as she was led out of the restaurant by Usagi.

"She's worse than Haruka," Usagi thought to herself. "How boyish could a girl be?"

Neither of them noticed the Maneki-Neko's eyes glow as they departed.

* * *

Mousse felt like he had fallen into a fast moving river, unable to steady himself as Makoto practically dragged him to the nearby park.

When they arrived, they found a mostly empty patch of grass and she let him go before, with a steady sway in her hips, walked a few meters away.

"Are you ready?"

"I guess?" Mousse squeaked. "Mako, we don't have to-"

Mako bowed towards him. Mousse instinctively did so in response, but otherwise made no move to prepare himself. This proved to be a mistake when, before realizing it, Makoto was moving her arm in an attempt at an open palm strike. Mousse quickly raised his arm and blocked Makoto. She lunged forward again and Mousse, more from instinct than preparedness dodged her kick.

"You're still holding back." Makoto said.

Mousse began to counter attack, using unarmed strikes and kicks. He sped up to just a hair faster than Makoto. He tapped her lightly enough to not hurt her, but enough to make a point about his skill. Only the flinch in Makoto's face showed her acknowledgement of his attacks.

"Why are you doing this?" Mousse asked, blocking a follow-up attack from Makoto.

"Why didn't you tell me you wore contacts?" she asked.

"I didn't think it was important?" he said loudly, blocking a haymaker.

"What if you got hurt?" Makoto asked, turning around and followingup with a kick to Mousse's torso "If I didn't look at you so closely, I don't think I would have ever suspected." She threw herself at Mousse, her attacks beginning to sharpen, much to Mousse's surprise. He actual began to struggle to keep up his defenses while not hurting her.

"What else haven't you told me about?" Makoto asked pointedly.

"A lot. It's a past I'm not proud of." Mousse shook his head, "If you knew you'd-"

"I'd what?" Mako said accusingly.

Mousse lashed out with his arms, "You'd pity me as much as she did! I'm not a blind freak!" Without meaning to, a small knife flew from Mousse's short sleeves, winging Makoto near her right shoulder.

"Makoto!" Mousse cried out as he ran forward towards her. "I'm so so sorry! I didn't mean to, I just lost control and I-"

Mako didn't even acknowledge the bleeding. With her right arm she grabbed Mousse's collar and dragged him to a secluded part of the park, on the side of a hill where few people walked by.

"What were you doing at NOS Burger yesterday?" she said cooly.

Mousse felt the air leave his lungs as he saw Makoto's eyes narrow. "Mako-chan?"

"Tell me." Makoto chest heaved as she stared down her boyfriend. "Why were you fighting those things? You could've been killed!"

Mousse shook his head and explained, "I wasn't looking for trouble. I got dragged there! And, I mean, those Sailor Senshi caused more damage than we did!" He added, as an aside, "Even if they did help us."

Makoto's expression began to shift from a deep frown to a pout. "I should hit you for that, Muu-Muu."

"Huh? What…" Mousse stopped as his eyes widened, "Wait, how did you know I was fighting demons? Are you hurt? I don't remember you with the civilians!"

"That's…" Makoto softened her grip. "I, I saw you as you were running away. The news said there were monsters there." She looked away from Mousse, embarrassed.

Mousse shook his head. "Look, Ranma dragged me there because he sensed something bad was happening there! I didn't want to go, but he needed my help. I already told him I can't be involved." Mako let go of mousse and he kneeled down, curling inwards on himself. "I don't want to worry you. You're a special person, Mako-chan. I don't want you to think I was some crazypants guy who gets into fights like that for no good reason."

"So there was a reason to fight monsters? Because of that girl you were with?"

Mousse nodded. "Yeah, Ranma said it was something evil and he could sense it, even though we were like a few kilometers away."

"Why didn't you explain yourselves to the Sailor Senshi, then? You could have told them-"

Mousse stood and said. "Wait a minute. They were yelling at us! After we helped clean their mess! Then the cops came and we bolted. I mean, it isn't like Ranma and I have their phone number or anything so call them and say "hey sorry about that, Ranma felt a premonition ever since the accident and he's a stubborn bastard."

Makoto blinked.

"Besides," he added, scratching his head. "Why do you care about the Senshi?"

Mako gulped. "They…" She decided to tell him the truth. "They saved me. I owe Sailor Moon and the others so much for what they did for me. It's all I can do to fight with them."

Mousse's eyes widened as he slowly began to understand the meaning of her words.

"M-Makoto?"

Mako reached into her pocket and felt for the small pink wand with a green jeweled star on its end. Makoto Kino said quietly, "I'm sorry, Mousse. I didn't want you to think I was some kind of weirdo. I have a past, too."

Before Mousse could respond, Makoto raised the wand skywards and called out:

"Jupiter Crystal Power, Make Up!"

Mousse was dumbstruck as the light enveloped her. In a flash she had changed before him. Her brown hair was in a loose, high ponytail which flowed down to her collarbone. Mousse was struck by how beautiful she looked in that shade of green and how it made her legs look like they would go on forever. Mousse felt a cold sweat on his forehead and his heart beat faster, though he couldn't suss out if that was from shock, desire, or sheer terror.

Makoto showed Mousse her right arm. Mousse noted that there was only a small line that showed where he had just cut her. Even that was quickly disappearing until it looked completely healed.

She moved to a kempo stance. "Now, let's try that again, Mousse. And don't hold back this time!" Makoto yelled as she charged him.

* * *

"So that how it is..." Ami said, taking a sip of water and trying to stop the shaking of her hands as she sat in the booth in the Fruits Parlor Crown were they had left their books.. For the first time ever, she wished she had something stronger on hand. For his part, Ryouga was quiet, his hands folded on the table and looking Ami over for signs of shock. He had explained a fair bit about Nerima and the three years spent as part of the 'Furinkan Nine', as he later found out they had been dubbed by the local media. He had tactfully omitted the part about Jusenkyo, figuring the martial arts and romantic entanglements were enough.

Finally Ami asked, "But what are people of your 'talents' doing..." she trailed off.

"In college?" Ryouga supplied. He started smiling again and let out a sigh of relief. "We're regular people, too. We want careers, families, normal lives. Yeah, we've torn down mountains, beaten weird supernatural creatures, and raised more hell than most people in Tokyo, but we're only human. Even that idio-" He paused. "Even Ranma is all right these days."

"Even though she's with that girl you liked?" Ami asked.

Ryouga shrugged. "Yeah, well even a jerk like him has to have somethin' to look forward to in life. It's ancient history," Ryouga remarked.

Ami moved her eyes in a way that was just barely perceptible to Ryouga."Hibiki-san," she said.

"Mizuno-san, it's okay if you call me Ryouga. I think I'd actually prefer that, if that's okay."

"Ryouga-kun, then. You said 'him' again when you were talking about Ranma."

Ryouga blinked, "Yeah?"

"Isn't Ranma a woman?" Ami asked.

Ryouga clicked his teeth and put a hand to his forehead. "Damn," he said with a snort. He tilted his head and gave Ami a grimaced smile. "It a long story and not exactly mine to tell. But trust me, he's not as much of a woman as you'd think."

* * *

"Why'd I have to be so damn cute lookin'?" Ranma thought with a mixture of consternation and pride. Inside the clothing boutique, Ranma was currently trying on a figure flattering, if expensive, red cocktail dress. While the dress went down past her knees, it was very tight fitting, emphasizing Ranma's exaggeratedly feminine figure.

This was the third outfit she had been egged into trying by her newfound blonde companion. While the first dress was tried on with much grumbling, little by little Ranma found herself unable to resist Usagi's enthusiasm. There was also a genuine sense of fun spending the day not working or studying. It was utter escapism in one of its simplest guises and Ranma began to wonder if this is why girls liked shopping so much.

"If this wasn't so goddamn wrong, I could actually get ta like this stuff," Ranma muttered to herself.

"Let me see, Ranma!" Usagi said from the other side of the privacy curtain.

"One sec," Ranma replied as she looked herself in the mirror. "Not one week locked and look at yourself, Saotome," she thought. "I'm just doin' it ta be friendly. This is the kinda thing girls like ta do, right?"

Ranma took a breath as she stepped out of the changing room. Despite herself, she smiled at Usagi's enthusiastic response.

"Wow! That looks really cute, Ranma-chan. Don't you think so?"

Ranma looked at herself in the full-length mirror behind Usagi. She caught a glimpse of herself smiling and grew self-conscious. "Eh, I ain't exactly a great judge at this kinda stuff. Kinda pricey, too." She held up the tag for emphasis.

"That's a shame. You have such a nice figure. I'm a little jealous." Usagi poked at Ranma's bustline for effect.

Ranma twitched slightly. "It's more trouble than it's worth."

The saleswoman, a tall brunette in her mid-20s, came up to both Ranma and Usagi. She put her hands on Ranma's shoulders, adjusting the dress slightly.

"Oh, that _does _look gorgeous on you, dear," she cooed.

"So, I've been told..." Ranma replied.

"Is your sister going to try something on herself?"

Ranma and Usagi looked at each other.

"Listen, lady. I-" Ranma began.

Usagi spoke over her. "No, we're not sisters. We're just friends."

The clerk tilted her head in confusion. "Oh, is that so? You look so alike, it's uncanny."

As she walked away, Ranma and Usagi looked at each other before they both turned towards the mirror.

Ranma scratched her head. "Huh, I don't see anythin' that-"

"It's the eyes," Usagi said. "And the nose shape."

Ranma squinted at both reflections. "Oh yeah... jawline's kinda similar too."

Ranma began to wonder. Usagi was two years younger than she was. Maybe... Ranma rapidly shook her head at the thought."No way the old man would ever do something like that," Ranma thought.

"Ma woulda gutted him like a trout."

* * *

Makoto, back in her dress, and Mousse sat quietly next to each other against a large cherry tree in the park. Mousse rubbed his cheek, which was quickly turning purple. Makoto sat next to Mousse, resting her head on his shoulder. She ran a hand through the length of his long hair.

"I hope I didn't hurt you too bad, Muu-Muu..." she cooed softly stroking his hair and noting it's newfound frizziness.

"It's okay, really. It doesn't hurt too bad." He leaned against her shoulder. "Believe me, Mako-chan, I've had worse. Not much worse than that electricity, but worse."

"Okay, no more secrets between us. You know about me now. My parents and my duty. What else should I know? Who is Mùsī?"

Mousse smiled at hearing her use the tones right. "Well, I guess I can start with more of my past. I grew up in a village of Chinese Amazons. I got bullied by everyone because of my eyesight. My mom took pity on me and taught me the Hidden Weapons style to defend myself. I came to Tokyo to chase my first love, Shanpu. I was hopelessly persistent, but in the end she ended up going back to China with someone else."

He looked wistful as he stared at the gathering, darkening clouds. "I decided to stay here in Japan and apply myself. That basically means I'm an exile from my own people."

Mousse heard Mako gasp. He held a hand. "It's okay. I don't really mind too much. I've gained a lot for it. I got an education and a couple of friends."

"Like that girl from last night?"

Mousse blinked. "You mean Ranma? That's funny you say that because actually, there's something I need to-"

A flash of lightning and the clap of thunder interrupted his words as rain suddenly poured down on the city and the couple.

Makoto soon found herself drenched and, in place of her boyfriend, a white duck sitting on her lap. It poked its head from Mousse's shirt sleeve before wriggling out of his clothes. She blinked as it seemed to pull out a small sign and marker.

"Tell you. I need hot water, Mako-chan," The sign said.

* * *

Ranma huddled under Usagi's large pink umbrella. "Aww man, I hate when the rain just comes up all of a sudden," she moaned.

"Oh it's no surprise this time of year." Usagi said. "Hopefully it'll cool off afterwards."

"Or it'll just get more humid," Ranma said. "I hate feelin' like my clothes are pasted onta me."

Ranma and Usagi walked down the mostly empty street. Despite herself, Ranma had to smile a little. She was a really nice girl. "Kinda like an energetic Kasumi," she mused to herself.

"Hey Usagi?" Ranma said out loud. "Thanks for hangin' out. I ain't the kinda gu-person ta ask for people's time, but I, uh, actually had a lotta fun."

Usagi looked at the somewhat bashful redhead."Oh, really? It's no problem. I should thank you, Ranma. We just met, and you were willing to hang out like we were friends. You're a lot of fun to be around, too. If you were a boy, you'd remind me a little of my Mamo-chan."

Before she could respond to Usagi's declaration, Ranma twitched. She felt the hairs in the back of her neck stand up and goosebumps on her flesh. The world seemed to become a shade darker and the air just a bit more stale-smelling.

"So what do you normally do when you're free?" Usagi asked, looking at the window displays.

Ranma rubbed the back of her head, feeling her attention begin to split. "Uh, I ain't got a lot of friends. Usually I just train. I'm a martial artist."

"Oh, so like kung fu?"

Ranma shrugged, narrowing her eyes. "Sort of. It's more of a personal style. Gong fu's part of it for sure, though." Ranma's voice grew just a shade quiet as Ranma began thinking about exit strategies, and possible points of ambush.

"So you fight in tournaments and stuff?" Usagi asked, recalling Makoto talking about a tournament she had participated in.

"A little in college, but..." Ranma stopped and closed her eyes. "I've been training since I was six. I spent ten years wandering the wilderness with him. I've done a lot of fighting. I've fought my best friends, Amazons, ghosts, powerful fighters... gods." Ranma frowned. "You know, until yesterday, I thought that part of my life was over..." her voice grew quiet and distracted.

"Yesterday?" Usagi finally saw the change in Ranma's mood. Her eyes were piercing and she looked almost predatory as she gaze around them.

"Last night," Ranma began, "I felt... it felt so bad. This feeling in the pit of my stomach, this tightness in my chest and buzzing in my brain. I was hangin' out with one of my only friends and I just..."

Ranma began looking at the rooftops, seeing shadows out of the corner of her eyes, though the rain and grey clouds made it difficult to tell for sure.

"I fought these demons. I just... I just knew they were hurting people. Mousse n' I went in and fought 'em."

Usagi blinked as she realized she had been given a puzzle piece that fit.

"Then those... Senshi, I guess? They showed up. Damn near blew up the place, but they saved my ass," Ranma suppressed a laugh. "Hate ta say it, but I could use one of 'em about now."

"Ranma, what are-" Usagi stopped as Ranma grabbed her wrist and jerked it tightly away from the street. Usagi dropped her umbrella as their feet splashed down a side alley.

"We gotta go, now!" Ranma yelled as she began to pull Usagi literally off her feet.

"Ah!" Usagi cried out. "Ranma, I can't run that fast!"

Ranma looked back, "sorry," she said quickly, before, without another word, she scooped up the soaking wet blonde and began running at a rapid pace.

Usagi was awed by Ranma's strength and speed. She was surprised that a girl who wasn't any bigger than she was could hold her so protectively.

Ranma jumped off a wall and onto the roof of a nearby building, Usagi yelling in fright as thunder rang out during their flight. Ranma kept going at a clip, jumping from roof to roof, almost slipping once as water dripped off their clothes.

Suddenly, Ranma stopped. She set Usagi down and clicked her teeth as she looked up towards the clouds.

"Stop right there..." a raspy voice uttered as a figured descended.

"Yeah?" Ranma asked.

Usagi and Ranma heard an echoing sound somewhere between a sniff and a slurp. Ranma set Usagi down.

"I can smell it on you!" the voice declared.

"What the _hell_ are you talkin' about, ugly!?" Ranma called out.

"Who are you calling, ugly? I am Daikokuten, The Sixth God of Misfortune!" He swung his staff threateningly, a sheet of water flying off the tip.

Usagi turned and saw Daikokuten. The figure before her didn't seem to be a youma, but it was no less fearsome It looked like something more sinister and old. The mask it wore was made of lacquered wood and painted crimson red, gold, and black, depicting an angered oni. The rain, still pouring, ran down the mask and Usagi couldn't help but imagine it as blood. A shiver ran up her spine.

"Our lord demands we take you to him, girl." Daikokuten declared, pointing his staff at Ranma. "You will give up the Serenity to him."

Usagi paled as Ranma stood protectively in front of Usagi and cracked her knuckles.

"Ranma, don't!" Usagi cried out "You could get-" Usagi's jaw dropped when Ranma turned back to face her.

Bright as day, brighter than all save her future daughter's sigil the day she manifested her power, a sigil burned a with a bright platinum silver halo on Ranma's forehead. It was formed of a silver crescent moon which was vertical and touching a circle with a dot in the middle that glowed gold. The light was reflected on the water that dripped down from the bangs of her red hair.

"Don't worry about me, Usagi." Ranma said in a strong and confident voice. "I'm a martial artist. It's what I do." She gave Usagi a wink and a sly smile. Usagi was left speechless as Ranma turned to face Daikokuten.

Ranma moved her arms rapidly, sloughing off the excess water as she bent her knees slightly and brought her left leg back, resting her weight on it before raising her arms. "I don't know what the hell a Serenity is, but I know for a fact you can't take me."

Suddenly a dozen more shadowy figures emerged from the rooftops and surrounded her. Ranma didn't move, instead her smile became a toothy grin. If she were honest, though, Ranma felt the odds of her getting out of this unscathed diminishing quickly.

After some unseen signal, the shadowy figures began to move and Ranma threw herself into the fray.

Usagi watched for a second before falling back to a small overhang nearby and pressing the panic button on her communicator.

* * *

AN:

I was tempted to end the chapter with a rousing "Senshi, Assemble!" but I thought better of it.

This chapter has gone through several revisions and lives. The original version had a different sort of Ryouga and I structured the Mousse/Makoto scenes very differently. It's still imperfect, but tweaking the characters and trying to balance out a lot of these setup elements was something I needed to get straight before we hit the stride of action and plot. Next Chapter should be the last of the major setup chapters as Ranma and the Senshi clash, the villains issue an ultimatum, and someone gets a kiss from a rose on the gray (the more you get of it the stranger it feels. Yeah).

I have a lot of writing to do for work in the next month or so, so I would expect the next chapter to drop a bit before Christmas time.

Once again, thanks very much to Kevin Hammel, Frank Rice, tuatara, and my bff Unsurpassed Travesty for looking over various versions of this character and offering great feedback.

Until next time,

-裏には裏がある


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